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6v-  9502.8 


HARVARD 
COLLEGE 
LIBRARY 


HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH 


FROM  THE  EARLIEST  PERIOD 


TO  TRS 


COMPLETIOX  OF  THE  HALF  CEXTURT  1850, 


WITH  BRIEF  K0TICE8 


or 


EMEvEKT  OR  REMARKABLE  INDIVIDUALS. 


BY  JOHN  AXDEESON, 

▲tJTHOR  OF  *'  BEMXK1SCE5CB8  OP  DA.  CEALUEB8,  "  &C. 


A.  FULLARTOS  k  CO., 

EDINBURGH    AKD    LONDON. 

1856. 


&-  ?50Z.? 


CX>INIIUKOH : 


» 


\  t. 


5    . 


< 


the  Inst  fortj-  yeare  connect  it  with  a  wider  histor, 


>      t— 


PREFACE. 


It  is  now  a  hundi'ed  vears  since  Maitland  wrote 
his  History  of  Edinburgh,  and  seventy-five  have 
elapsed  since  Amot's '  appeared.  Though  sub- 
sequently there  have  been  several  interesting  and 
popular  works  about  Edinburgh,  such  as  Chambers's 
*  Traditions,'  and  Wilson's  '  Memorials  of  Edinburgh 
in  the  Olden  Time; '  a  book  seemed  to  be  wanted  to 
bring  down  the  history  of  the  City  to  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  the  first  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth.    This  object  it  appeared  desirable  to  supply. 

Researches  connected  with  the  present  work  have 
occupied  the  author  more  or  less  for  the  last  ten 
vears. 

Sinc^  Amot's  period,  the  histor}'  of  Edinbm*gh  pre- 
sents an  ever-changing  scene,  somewhat  dramatic  in 
its  aspect,  and  the  public  meetings  held  there  during 
the  last  forty  years  connect  it  with  a  wider  history. 


VI  PREFACE. 


and  indicate  "the  very  form  and  pressure  of  the 


ff 


times* 


Samuel  Johnson  somewhere  remarks  that  bio- 
graphy is  history;  in  this  volume  the  observation 
has  been  so  far  acted  on,  that  the  author  has  en- 
grafted on  his  plan,  a  series  of  biographic  notices  of 
upwards  of  two  hundred  individuals,  whose  educa- 
tion or  lives  connect  them  with  Edinburgh;  and 
these  brief  notices,  it  is  believed,  besides  being  useful 
for  reference,  may  impart  a  little  additional  interest 
to  the  history  of  the  city  itself.  This  list  of  remark- 
able or  distinguished  characters  the  author  was 
anxious  to  have  rendered  somewhat  complete,  but 
there  are  still  a  few  whose  names  might  have  been 
included.  For  example,  Oliver  Goldsmith  came  to 
Edinburgh  in  1752,  to  pursue  his  medical  studies,  and 
took  up  his  residence  in  the  College  Wynd,  the  same 
ancient  lane  in  the  Old  tovm  which,  about  twenty 
years  later,  was  the  birth-place  of  a  still  more  dis- 
tinguished man,  Sir  Walter  Scott. 

Dr.  J.  G.  Spurzheim  visited  Edinburgh  in  1816 
and  1828*  On  the  former  occasion-  he  publicly  dis- 
sected a  brain  with  his  antagonist,  a  very  superior 
and  eminent  man — Dr.  John  Gordon,  and  came  off 
victor;  during  the  latter,  he  delivered  a  course  of 
lectures  on  Phrenology. 

Among  the  discoveries  of  modem  days,  perhaps 


PKEFACE.  VU 

the  most  wonderful  is  the  Electric  Telegraph,  and  it 
was  indeed  a  notable  event  in  the  history  of  Edin- 
burgh, and  one  which  would  thirty  years  ago  have 
been  as  little  believed  as  some  of  the  fabulous  stories 
in  the  Arabian  Kights'  Entertainments,  that  the 
metropolis  of  Scotland  should  be  placed  in  instant 
communication  with  the  capital  of  England,  nearly 
four  hundred  and  fifty  miles  distant,  and  that  by 
means  of  an  electric  wii-e,  by  which  messages 
are  conveyed  with  nearly  the  speed  of  lightning. 
This  remarkable  event  took  place  in  the  autumn 
of  1847. 

"Walter  Scott,"  says  Lockhart,  "delighted  in 
passing  through  some  of  the  quaint  windings  of  the 
ancient  city,  now  deserted,  except  at  mid-day,  by  the 
upper  world.  How  often  have  I  seen  him  go  a  long 
way  round  about,  rather  than  miss  the  opportunity 
of  halting  for  a  few  minutes  on  the  vacant  esplanade 
of  Holyrood,  or  under  the  darkest  shadows  of  the 
Castle  rock,  where  it  overhangs  the  Grassmarket — 
and  the  huge  slab  that  still  marks  where  the  gibbet 
of  Porteous  and  the  Covenanters  had  its  station. 
His  coachman  knew  him  too  well  to  move  at  a 
Jehu's  pace  amidst  such  scenes  as  these.  No  funeral 
hearse  crept  more  leisurely  than  did  his  landau  up 
the  Canongate  or  the  Cowgate;  and  not  a  queer  tot- 
tering gable  but  recalled  to  him  some  long  buried 
memory  of  splendour  or  bloodshed,  which,  by  a  few 
words,  he  set  before  the  hearer  in  the  reality  of  life." 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

Such  was  Sir  Walter  Scott's  veneration  for  old  Edin- 
burgh, that  he  obtained  the  door  of  the  demolished 
Tolbooth  of  the  city,  and  placed  it  at  his  mansion. 
It  bears  this  inscription,  "  The  Lord  of  armeis  w 
my  protector^  bltssit  ar  they  that  trust  in  the  Lordy 
1575;" — and  the  doorway  at  the  west  end  of  his 
modem  castle,  Abbotsford,  is  composed  of  stones 
which  formed  the  portal  of  the  Heart  of  Mid-Lothian^ 
or  old  prison  of  Edinburgh.  His  description  of  the 
ancient  city  is  very  graphic  as  well  as  poetical: 

"  Such  dusky  grandeur  cloches  the  height. 
Where  the  huge  castle  holds  its  state, 

And  all  the  steeps  slope  down, 
MThose  ridgy  back  heaves  to  the  sky. 
Plied  deep  and  massy,  close  and  high, 

Mine  own  romantic  town ! " 


31  St.  BxavABD's  Caxscxirr, 
EDxmiTBOH,  U<  Jamwary^  1856. 


ANNALS. 


PART  I. 

FBOM  THE  EABLIEST  PERIOD  TO  THE  CLOSE  OF  THE 

REIOK  OP  JAMES  VI.  IN  1625. 


HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 


«n^W«#MW«MMM«MMW«MMAMMM«WMW^MM^MMMMM^ 


PAET  L 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era,  the  Soman 
empire  was  at  the  zenith  of  its  glory.  '  It  had  only  a  short 
time  before  extended  its  wings  to  Britain ;  the  first  expe- 
dition of  Julius  Csesar  to  that  island  havinir  taken 
K.C  55.  ^ 

place  in  the  year  b.  c.  55. 

Julius  Agricola,  the  father-in-law  of  Tacitus,  who  was 
his  eloquent  biographer,  was  despatched  to  Britain 
A.  D.  78,  by  the  Emperor  Vespasian,  towards  the 
latter  end  of  his  reign :  and  after  some  conquests  in  Eng- 
land and  Wales,  he  appears  to  have  marched  with  his  army 
into  Scotland  the  following  year,  when  he  came  to  the 
Firth  of  Forth ;  and  it  is  extremely  probable  that  part 
of  the  ground  on  which  ancient  Edinburgh  now  stands  be- 
came for  a  period  a  Boman  station — ^the  Castrum  AloUum  of 
that  powerful  people.     Thence  Agricola  proceeded  to  the 
north,  and  fought  his  celebrated  battle  with  Galgacus  and 
the  brave  Caledonians  at  Mons  Grampius ;  the  exact  site  of 
which  still  continues  to  puzzle  antiquaries. 

It  is  curious  and  interesting  thus  to  cast  our  eyes  back 

nearly  two  thousand  years,  and  contemplate  the  fields  or 

hamlet  lying  below  the  ancient  and  stupendous  Castle  rock, 

occupied  by  the  gallant  Agricola  (^nd  his  Roman  soldiers. 

80.         Agricola  then  built  a  cihain  of  forts  between  tlie 


4  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

Forth  and  Clyde,  and  Lollius  IJrbicus,  one  of  the   Ilea* 
tenants    of  the    Emperor   Antoninos   Pius,  about   half  a 
century  after,  erected  a  considerable  portion  of  the  wall 
of  Antoninus,  embracing  Agricola's  forts,  and  ex- 
tending from  near  Abercom  on  the  Forth  to  Old  Kilpatrick 
on  the  Clyde,  a  wall  having  at  some  places  foundations  of 
stone  and  throughout  ramparts  of  turf,  and  occupying  a  line 
of  about  thirty-seven  miles.    The  vulgar  modem  name  of 
Graham's  Dyke,  given  to  this  wall,  there  is  reason  to  believe, 
was  a  corruption  of  the  Gaelic  word  Gream^  a  fortification. 
In  the  year  a.d.  208  the  Soman  Emperor  Severus 

208. 

and  his  army^  also  engaged  in  warfare  with  the 
Caledonians,  and  the  ambuscades  from  which  they  suffered, 
together  with  the  coldness  of  the  climate  and  the  severity  of 
a  winter  march  across  the  hills  and  morasses  of  Scotland, 
are  stated  to  have  cost  the  Romans  about  fifty  thousand 
men.* 

At  Cramond,  nearly  five  miles  firom  Edinburgh,  there 
was  a  Roman  station  in  the  time  of  Severus.  f  The  Romans 
had  forts  or  stations  at  regular  distances  between  the  east 
end  of  Antoninus^s  wall  near  Abercom,  and  Cramond. 

Affixed  to  the  exterior  of  a  house  in  the  High  Street  of 
Edinburgh,  near  the  Nether  Bow,  there  is  a  stone  sculpture 
of  a  male  and  female  head,  regarding  which  there  has  existed 
a  tradition  that  they  represent  the  Emperor  Severus  and 
his  Empress  Julia,  who  were  both  in  Scotland,  and  the  re- 
semblance of  the  heads  to  those  on  the  coins  of  the  Emperor 
Severus  seems  to  corroborate  the  story.  A  modem  author  { 
of  considerable  research,  is  of  opinion  that  evidence  enough 
has  been  adduced  to  establish  the  fact  that  a  Roman  colonia 
existed  on  the  site  of  Edinburgh. 

Edinburgh  is  situated  in  that  part  of  the  country  which 


*  Gibbon's  Decline  and  Fall,  toI.  i. 

t  Gordon's  ItineTsriiun  Septentrionale. 

*  Dr.  Daniel  Wilson,  in  his  ^*  Arcbnology  and  Prehistoric  Annals  of 
Scotland." 


ANKAL8.  5 

the  Bomans  called  the  province  of  Valentia,*  and  aeems  to 
have  derived  its  name  from  Edwin,  the  first  Christian  king 
of  Northumberland,  who  overran  a  great  part  of  the  Pictish 
territories,  and  founded  the  Castle  of  Ekiinburgh  about  the 

year  a.  d.  626,  hence  the  name  of  Edinburgh,  or 

EdwisCs  burgh,  or  Edwin*s  Castle,  the  word  burgh 
being  almost  synonymous  with  castle  or  town. 

Eing  Arthur  is  said  to  have  fought  one  of  his  battles  on 
the  spot  where  Edinburgh  now  stands,  hence,  according  to 
this  account,  the  name  of  the  hill  called  Arthui-'s  Seat. 
Edinburgh  Castle  was  styled,  before  its  present  name  was 
given  to  the  town,  the  Fortress  of  the  Hill  of  Agnes — and 
at  a  later  period,^  Castrum  Puellarum,  as  the  daughters  of 
the  Pictish  kings  and  chiefs  were  kept,  and  educated  there, 
till  they  were  married ;  this  was  considered  a  necessary  safe- 
guard in  those  barbaric  ages. 

In  685  Edinburgh  and  the  countty  around  fell 

into  the  hands  of  <che  Picts,  but  it  was  again  con* 
quered  by  the  Northumbrians  in  the  ninth   centur\',  and 

was  held  by  them  till  956,  when  it  was  given  up  to 

Indulphus,  King  of  Scotland. 

Queen  Margaret,  the  widow  of  Malcolm  Can- 

more,t  died  in  Edinburgh  Castle,  10th  June  109o, 
a  few  days  afW  her  husband  and  eldest  son  were  killed  at 
Alnwick.  Donald  Bane,  the  uncle  of  Malcolm's  children, 
usurped  the  throne,  and  besieged  the  castle,  in  which  the 
rightful  heir  to  the  crown  resided.  Donald,  imagining  from 
the  steepness  of  this  remarkable  fortress  that  the  eastern 

*  8o  named  in  honoor  of  the  Emperor  Valentiniu),  in  the  year  a.  d.  .366. 
The  proTiDoe  thus  called  Yalentia  by  the  Bomana,  compriaed  tbe  apaoe  of 
coimtry  from  Hadrian's  Wall,  which  was  on  the  line  across  the  island  from 
Newcastle  to  the  Sdlway,  to  the  line  of  Agricola's  chain  of  forts  from  the 
Firth  of  Forth  to  the  Firth  of  Clyde. 

t  Malcolm  Canmore  was  the  son  of  Dnncan^  King  of  Scotland,  who  was 
mnrderod  by  Macbeth  in  1089.  Malcolm  snoceeded  to  the  throne  in  1057. 
HisQoeen,  Biargaret,  whom  he  married  in  1066,  was  the  granddaughter  of 
Edmond  Ironaide,  King  of  England.  She  was  an  excellent  and  superior 
woman.  Her  posterity  have  continued  to  reign  in  Scotland  nearly  eight 
centuries. 


6  HISTORY  OP  EDINBUBGH. 

gate  was  the  only  mode  of  escape,  ordered  it  alone  to  be 
guarded,  bat  the  body  of  the  queen  was  conveyed  through 
a- postern  on  the  west  side  of  the  castle,  to  Dunfermline, 
where  she  was  interred.  The  children  of  Malcolm  escaped 
to  England,  where  they  were  educated  by  their  maternal 
uncle,  Edgar  Atheliug. 

It  does  not  appeal*  certain  when  Edinburgh  was 

constituted  a  royal  burgh,  but  David  L,  in  his 
charter  of  foundation  of  the  abbey  of  Holjrrood  in  1128, 
mentions  it  as  ^' Burgo  meo  de  Edtoinesburg"  and  it  is  pro- 
bable that  it  was  that  monarch  who  lirst  erected  it  into  a 
Royal  burgh. 

In   1174  Edinburgh  Castle  and  other  Scottish 

garrisons  were  given  up  to  the  English,  to  purchase 

the  fireedom  of  William  I.  the  Lion,  King  of  Scotland,  but 

it  was  restored  on  his  marriage  with  a  relative  of  the  English 

King. 

f  A  parliament  was  held  in  Edinburgh  for  the  first 

time  in  1215,  during  the  reign  of  Alexander  U. 
1230.       That  monarch  founded  the  monastery  of  Black- 
fiiars  in  1230.     It  was  a  large  and  conspicuous  building, 
standing  near  the  Old  High  School  Yards,  at  the  foot  of 
Infirmary  Street. 

Alexander  II.,  King  of  Scotland,  died  in  1249, 

and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Alexander  IIL,  then 
a  boy  nearly 'eight  years  of  age.    This  youthful  monarcii 

met  Henry  III.,  King  of  England,  at  York,  in  1251, 

where  he  was  knighted  by  the  English  King,  and 
on  the  Ibliowing  day  married  to  Margaret  the  daughter  of 
Kenryy  a  girl  of  thirteen  years  of  age.-  Alexander  HI.,  on 
his  return  to  Scotland,  proposed  to  make  Edinburgh  Castle 
his  residence,  but  firom  the  Earl  of  Monteith,  the  governor, 
being  disaffected  to  him,  this  was  not  done,  though,  by  the  aid 
of  the  English,  Monteith  was  made  to  surrender  the  fortress. 
In  1255,  Alexander's  young  Queen,  Margaret, 

resided  in  the  Castle,  apart  firom  her  husband,  and 


ANKAL&  7 

without  proper  attendantSy  and  she  complained,  not  unna- 
turally for  a  young  pei'son  accustomed  to  every  gaiety, 
that  it  was  a  '^  sad  and  sdlitary  place,  without  verdure,"  and 
that  she  was  deprived  of  the  society  of  her  husband. 

Alexander  III.  was  killed  by  a  fall  from  his  horse 

1285. 

near  Einghorn,  in  Fife,  19th  March  1285|  and  this 
event  followed  soon  after  by  the  death  of  his  grandchild  and 
successor,  Margaret  the  Maiden  of  Norway,  left  it  doubtful 
who  was  heir  to  the  throne. 

At  the  period  of  the  contested  succession  to  the  Scottish 
crown,  between  Brace  and  Baliol,  Edward  I.,  who  had  been 
chosen  umpire  in  the  dispute,  in  the   most  unprincipled 
manner,  invaded  Scotland,  and  successfully  besieged 
Edinburgh  Castle  in  1296,  and  it  remained  in  pos- 
session of  the  English  till  1313,  when  it  was  re- 
taken by  the  Earl  of  Moray,  afterwards  regent  of 
Scotland  during  the  minority  of  David  11. 

The  oldest  charter  in  the  archives  of  the  city  is 

1829. 

one  by  Robert  I.,  dated  1329,  fifteen  years  after 
the  battle  of  Bannockbum,  in  which  he  bestows  on  Edin- 
burgh the  town  of  Leith,  with  its  harbour  and  mills. 

Edward  Baliol  held  a  Parliament  or  Council  of 

13B3. 

Lords  in  the  Abbey  Chapel  of  Holyrood  in  1333. 

Edward  m.  twice  invaded  Scotland  in  support  of  the 

pretensions  of  Edward  Baliol  to  tlie  throne,  and  while  he 

lay  with  his  army  at  Perth,  the  Count  Namur, 

coming  \\nth  a  body  of  foreigners  to  his  assistance, 

proposed  passing  through  Edinburgh  on  his  way  northward, 

but  the  Earl  of  Moray  gave  him  battle  at  the  Borough- 

Muir,  a  little  to  the  south  of  the  city,  and  defeated  the 

invaders.     They  retreated  to  Edinburgh  in  order  of  battle, 

part  of  them  were  driven  through  the  spot  where  Bristo 

Port  afterwards  stood,  and  flying  down  the  Candlemaker 

Bow,  took  refiige  on  the  Castle  rock;  others  fled  by  St. 

Mary's  Wynd.      Next  day   they  surrendered,  and  were 

allowed  to  depart  on  condition  that  they  should  never  again 


8  HISTOBT  OF  EDINfiURQH. 

bear  arms  against  David  Bruce.    This  battle  of  Borough* 
muir  took  place  in  1336. 

On  his  return  £rom  the  north  of  Scotland^  Edward  III. 
caused  the  castle  to  be  rebuilt,  but  it  did  not  remain  long  in 
possession  of  the  English,  as  it  was  recovered  by  a 
stratagem  contrived  in  1341  by  Sir  William  Douglas 
and  three  other  Scottish  gentlemen.  One  of  them  pretended 
to  be  an  English  merchant,  and  told  the  governor  that  he  had 
got  a  cargo  of  wine,  beer,  and  biscuit,  exquisitely  spiced,  in  his 
vessel  in  the  Forth,  and  the  governor  relishing  the  specimen 
produced,  agreed  to  purchase  the  same,  and  the  provisions 
were  to  be  delivered  early  next  morning.  They  were  sent 
at  the  time  appointed,  with  armed  men  disguised  as  sailors, 
and  aided  by  Sir  William  Douglas,  who  was  concealed  in 
the  neighbourhood  with  a  band  of  soldiers,  they  overpowered 
the  garrison  and  obtained  possession  of  the  castle. 

The  Scottish  Eling,  David  II.,  died  in  Edinburgh 
^^^^'    Castle,  22d  Feb.  1371,  in  the  42d  year  of  liis  reign. 
The  Earl  of  Carrick,  afterwards  King  Robert  HI.,  con- 
ferred on  the  burgesses  of  Edinburgh,  in  1385,  the 
singular  privilege  of  building  houses  to  themselves 
within  the  castle. 

Robert  11.,  in  1388,  granted  to  the  town  a  piece 

of  ground  on  the  north  side  of  Market  Street,  or 

High  Street,  called  the  Bell-house.    The  object  of  this  was 

to  beautify  the  town,  and  it  is  believed  to  be  the  spot  on 

which  Mill's  Court  now  stands. 

In  1398,  during  the  reign  of  Robert  m.,  a  tour- 
nament was  held  on  the  ground  under  the  castle, 
near  the  North  Loch. 

James  I.  established  the  monastery  of  Grey  Friars, 
which  stood  on  the  south  side  of  the  Grassmarket, 
nearly  opposite  to  the  West  Bow.  It  had  spacious  gardens, 
now  the  Grey  Friars  burying-ground.  Jane,  the  Queen  of 
this  Scottish  mouarcli,  to  whom  he  had  formed  an  attach- 
ment while  he  was  a  prisoner  in   Windsor   Castle,  was 


AKKALfi.  9 

delivered  of  twin  princes  at  the  Abbey  of  Holyrood  in 
Edinburgh,  14th  October  1426. 

In  the  reign  of  James  I.  the  generality  of  the  honses  in 
Edinburgh  did  not  exceed  the  height  of  twenty  feet  This 
excellent  prince,  who  was  at  once  an  accomplished  poet  and 
long,  fell  the  victim  of  a  cmel  conspiracy  at  Perth, 
in  1437.  Walter,  Earl  of  Athol,  the  king's  uncle, 
and  other  two  of  the  murderers,  were  brought  to  Edin- 
burgh, and  suffered  death  with  such  a  dreadful  accompani- 
ment of  horrors  as  is  revolting  to  human  nature,  and  only 
to  be  paralleled  in  the  annals  a£  the  Spanish  Inquisition. 

His. son  and  successor,  James  11.,  was  crowned  at  the 
palace  of  Holyrood-house  when  only  seven  years  of  age,  and 
resided  in  Edinburgh  Castle  till  his  mother,  the  widow  of 
James  L,  coming  to  visit  him  there,  in  1489,  man- 
aged by  a  stratagem,,  getting  him  shut  up  in  a  chest 
that  had  been  in  use  to  contain  her  own  dress;  to  get  him 
conveyed  thus  from  Edinburgh  Castle  to  Leith,  whence 
they  sailed  to  Stirling. 

In  1447,  James  11.  granted  to  Edinburgh  the 

Trinity  Fair,  with   all  the  rights  and  privileges 

thereto  pertaining.    This  was  the  original  establishment  of 

Hallow  fair,  which  is  held  annually  in  Edinburgh  in  the 

month  of  November. 

James  H.  married  Marv  of  Guelderland,  who  was 

1443.  •        ^  ^ 

crowned  Queen  at  the  abbey  of  Holyrood-house, 
July  1448. 

James  H.,  in  1450,  allowed  the  citizens  to  fortifv 

1450.  * 

Edinburgh  for  the  first  time,  by  building  a  wall 
which  commenced  at  the  foot  of  the  north-east  rock  of  the 
Castle,  at  a  place  called  the  WtUrhouse  Tbwer,  corrupted  in 
common  parlance  into  Wallace's  Tower,  where  the  ruins  of 
a  small  fortress  are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  Western  Prince's 
Street  gardens,  a  little  to  the  touth  side  of  the  Edinburgh 
and  Glasgow  railway.  The  wall  ran  along  from  this  point 
till  it  came  opposite  the  Castle  Hill  reservoir,  whence  it 


10  HISTORT  OF  EDINBURGH. 

was  carried  quite  across  the  hill.  At  the  Castle  BUI  there 
was  a  gate  of  communication  for  the  town  to  the  citadel. 
ThencQ  the  wall  proceeded  in  an  oblique  direction  to  the 
middle  of  the  West  Bow,  where  was  the  Upper  Bow  Port; 
it  then  passed  east,  bj  the  back  of  the  pi*esent  Parliament 
House,  to  the  Mint  Close,  and  from  there  to  the  Nether 
Bow  Port. 

Greenside  was  granted  by  James  II.,  in.  1456,  to 
the  Edinburghers,  for  the  purpose  of  holding  tilts 
and  tournaments  there. 

In  1461,  Henry  VI.  of  England,  with  his  Queen, 
Margaret  of  Anjou,  and  their  son,  Edward  Prince 
of  Wales,  took  refuge  in  Edinburgh  and  resided  for  a  period 
there,  when  they  were  most  kindly  and  hospitably  received. 
Margaret  of  Anjou,  it  is  well  known,  is  one  of  Shakspeare's 
heroines,  and  it  is  connected  with  this  period  of  her  hus- 
band's history  that  he  makes  her  say  to  Levids,  King  of 
France : 

"  Now  therefore  be  it  known  to  noble  Lewis,— 
That  Henry,  sole  possessor  of  mj  love, 
Is,  of  a  king,  become  a  banish'd  man, 
And  forc'd  to  live  in  Scotland  a  forlorn ; 
While  proad,  ambitious  Edward,  Duke  of  York, 
Usurps  the  reg^  title,  and  the  seat 
Of  England's  tme  anointed  lawfnl  king." 

James  III.  resided  much  at  Holyrood,  and  his 

1469.  . 

nuptials  with  jVIargaret,  Princess  of  Denmark,  were 
celebrated  "in  great  dignity"  at  the  Abbey  there,  13th 
July  1469. 

The  markets  for  provisions  in  Edinburrrh  had  no 

1477.  . 

fixed  places  assigned  them  till  1477,  when  James  lU., 
by  letters  patent,  granted  a  charter  confirming  the  places  then 
fixed  by  the  magistrates,  and  which  is  historically  curious,  as 
indicating  the  principal  localities  of  Edinborgh  at  that  early 
period.  The  hay,  straw,  grass,  and  horse-meat  markets  were 
to  be  held  in  the  Cowgate,  from  Forrester's  Wynd  down  to 


^  ANNALS.  1 1 

Peebles  Wjiid,  which  latter  was  pulled  down  three  centuries 
afterwards  to  make  way  for  the  South  Bridge ;  the  fish  market, 
from  the  Friar  Wynd  to  the  Nether  Bow,  in  Market  Street 
or  High  Street ;  the  salt  market,  in  Kiddxy^s  Wjnd ;  the 
camp  of  chapmen,  from  the  Bellhouse  down  to  the  Tron, 
afterwards  the  Tron  Kirk;  the  hatmakers  and  skinners, 
opposite  to  them  on  the  south  side  of  the  street;  the  wood 
and  timber  market  from  Dalrymple  Yard  to  the  Greyfiiars 
and  westward;  the  shoe  market  from  Forrester's  Wynd 
westward;  the  nolt  or  flesh  market,  about  the  Tron;  the 
poultry  market,  at  the  Cross;  the  cattle  market,  at  the 
King's  Stables,  back  of  Castle;  the  meal  and  com  market, 
from  the  Tolbooth  up  to  Liberton's  Wynd;  fit>m  there  to  the 
Tresep,  the  cloth  and  lawn  market.  Butter,  cheese,  wool, 
and  all  goods  to  be  weighed,  at  the  Upper  Bow,  and  a  Tron 
or  Weigh  to  be  set  there, — the  ancient  Weigh-house; 
cutlers  and  smith  work,  beneath  the  Nether  Bow,  about  St. 
Mary's  Wynd ;  all  saddlery  work,  at  the  Greyfriars,  Grass- 
market.  "V^^at  a  lively  graphic  picture  this  scene  presents 
of  the  ancient  city  of  Edinburgh ! 

James  IH.  having  offended  the  nobles  of  Scot- 
land, was  obliged  to  take  refuge  in  the  Castle  of 
Edinburgh,  in  1482,  and  after  nine  months  of  a  kind  of 
imprisonment  there,  he  was  liberated  by  the  valour  of  the 
citizens,  who,  under  tlie  command  of  Bertram,  their  provost 
or  chief  magistrate,  assaulted  the  Castle,  and  set  their  sove- 
reign free.  King  James,  to  show  his  gratitude  for  this,  ap- 
pointed the  chief  magistrate,  ex  ofiicio^  Hereditaxy  ELigh 
Sheriff  within  the  City,  an  office  which  the  Lord  Provost  of 
Edinburgh  still  enjoys  as  Lord  Lieutenant  of  the  City  of 
the  County  of  Edinburgh.  At  the  same  time  he  invested 
the  magistrates  with  the  power  of  making  laws  for  the 
government  of  the  city,  with  other  privileges,  contained  in  a 
patent  styled  a  Golden  Charter^  issued  in  1482.  He  also 
gave  the  Trades  of  Edinburgh  a  standard  or  banner,  called 
The  Blue  Blanket^  which,  though  in  a  tattered  condition,  is 


12  HISTORY  OP  EDINBUKGH. 

Still  careftilly  preserved  by  the  Convener  of  the  Trades  for 
the  time  beings  and  is  displayed  on  important  occasions. 

James  lY.  succeeded  to  the  Scottish  throne  on 

1488 

the  death  of  his  father,  11th  June  1488,  whefi  in 
the  sixteenth  year  of  his  age.  A  treaty  of  marriage  between 
him  and  the  Princess  Margaret,  daugliter  of  Henry  VII.  of 

England,  was  concluded  in  1499,  but  the  marriage 

did  not  take  place  till  four  years  afterwards.  Mean- 
while he  was  a  good  deal  engaged  in  preparing  a  gay  recep- 
tion and  suitable  residence  in  Edinburgh  for  his  intended 

bride.      She  came  in  great  state   from  England. 

Some  of  the  particulars  connected  with  this  marriage 
illustrate  the  manners  of  the  age,  and  of  royalty  at  Edin- 
burgh at  that  period.  The  King  went  to  meet  his  fair 
Margaret  at  the  Earl  of  Morton's  castle  of  Dalkeith.  He 
was  arrayed  in  a  jacket  of  crimson  velvet  bordered  with 
cloth  of  gold,  and  at  the  interview  he  and  she  made  great 
reverences  the  one  to  the  other.  Margaret  remained  four 
days  between  Dalkeith  and  the  Abbey  of  Newbattle,  during 
which  the  Eong  visited  her  daily  and  excited  admiration  by 
his  feats  of  horsemanship,  and  entertained  his  bride  by  play- 
ing on  the  clarycordes  and  the  lute.  On  the  seventh  August 
1503,  the  Princess  set  out  for  Edinburgh,  placed  in  a  litter 
very  richly  adorned,  and  she  was  equipped  in  a  rich  gown 
of  cloth  of  gold,  with  a  purfill  of  black  velvet  and  a  rich 
collar  of  pearl  and  stone.  The  Eang  came  half  way  from 
Edinburgh  to  meet  her,  mounted  on  a  bay  horse  covered 
with  trappings  of  gold,  and  he  wore  a  jacket  like  to  the 
trappings,  his  doublet  was  of  violet  satin,  his  hose  of  scarlet, 
his  shirt  bound  with  stones  and  pearls,  his  spurs  gilt  and 
long.  On  coming  to  the  Queen  he  made  her  very  humble 
obeisance.  He  then  tried  a  courser  of  his  .own,  whose  har- 
ness was  of  cloth  of  gold  and  crimson  velvet,  to  see  if  he 
would  carry  double,  but  the  horse  not  being  accustomed  to 
this  load,  he  mounted  on  the  Queen's  palfrey,  ^^  and  the  said 
Queen  behind  him,  and  so  rode  towards  the  said  town  of 


ANNAIfi.  13 

Edinburgh.'*  On  the  way  there  was  prepared  for  their 
entertainment  a  cooxBing  match  of  a  stag  with  a  grejhoond, 
and  the  representation  of  a  simple  romance  of  chivalry. 
The  royal  company  were  received  in  the  ci^  with  great  re- 
joicing, processions  and  pageants,  while  at  the  Cross  was  a 
fountain  castmg  forth  wine.  The  houses  and  windows  were 
hung  with  tiq>estryi  and  were  full  of  lords  and  ladies,  gen- 
tlewomen and  gentlemen,  and  in  the  streets  were  so  great  a 
multitude  of  people  that  it  was  a  fidr  thing  to  see.  Then 
the  company  passed  out  of  the  city  to  the  church  of  Holy 
Cross  or  Holyrood.  Each  one  leapt  off  his  horse,  and  in 
fair  order  went  with  the  procession  into  the  church.  The 
King  and  the  Queen  light  down.  He  took  the  Queen  by 
the  body  and  led  her  to  the  great  altar,  where  was  a  place 
arranged  for  them  to  kneel  upon  two  cushions  of  cloth  of 
gold.  After  these  ceremonies  at  the  church  were  over,  the 
King  and  Queen  went  to  the  adjoining  palace  of  Holyrood, 
where  he  took  leave  of  her.  The  following  day,  the  eighth 
of  August,  1503,  every  man  appointed  himself  richly  for  the 
honour  of  being  present  at  this  noble  and  royal  marriage. 
Between  eight  and  nine  o'clock  overy  one  was  ready,  nobly 
apparelled,  and  the  ladies  came  richly  arrayed,  some  in 
gowns  of  cloth  of  gold,  others  in  crimson  velvet  and  black, 
others  of  satin  and  tinsel,  of  damask  and  of  chamlet  of  many 
colours ;  hoods,  chains,  and  collars  upon  their  necks,  accom- 
panied with  their  gentlewomen  arrayed  honestly  after  their 
guise  for  to  hold  cx>mpany  to  the  said  Queen.  The  arch- 
bishop of  York  and  the  Bishop  of  Durham,  with  the  Earl  of 
Surrey  and  the  otlier  Lords  of  England,  were  conducted 
into  the  presence  of  the  King,  who  was  within  his  great 
chamber,  and  at  the  coming  of  the  said  lords  made  reverence 
to  every  man,  his  bonnet  always  in  his  hand.  The  Eling 
sat  in  a  chair  of  crimson  velvet,  and  as  the  narrator,  in  his 
simple  admiration,  states,  ^^  It  was  a  noble  thing  to  see  the 
said  chamber  so  nobly  iumished."  The  Queen  was  brought 
from  the  palace  to  the  church  arrayed  in  a  rich  robe,  horded  of 


A 


14  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

crimson  velvet,  with  a  very  rich  collar  of  gold  and  pearls 
round  her  neck,  crowned  with  a  very  rich  crown  of  gold, 
garnished  with  pierrery  and  pearls,  her  hair  hanging.  She 
was  accompanied  by  many  ladies,  two  of  England  and  two 
of  Scotland  in  each  row,  her  train  borne  by  the  Countess  of 
Sorrey.  The  Eang  was  equipped  in  a  gown  of  white 
damask,  figured  with  gold  and  lined  with  sarsenet.  He  had 
on  a  jacket  with  sleeves  of  crimson  satin,  the  lists  of  black 
velvet,  under  the  same  a  doublet  of  cloth  of  gold,  and  a  pair 
of  scarlet  hose,  his  shirt  braided  with  thread  of  gold,  his 
bonnet  black,  with  a  rich  balay  or  ruby,  and  his  sword  about 
him.  Then  the  King  coming  near  to  the  Queen  made 
reverence,  and  she  to  him  very  humbly.  Then  the  noble 
marriage  was  performed  by  the  Archbishop  of  Glasgow. 
This  done,  the  trumpets  blew  for  joy,  and  the  Eling,  holding 
his  bride  by  the  right  hand,  conveyed  her  to  the  high  altar, 
where  they  knelt  on  rich  cushions.  She  was  afterwards 
anointed,  and  the  King  gave  her  the  sceptre  in  her  hand. 
They  dined  separately  tliat  day.  At  the  first  course  the 
Queen  was  served  with  a  wild  boards  head  gilt,  within  a  fair 
platter,  then,  with  a  fair  piece  of  bran,  followed  by  divers 
other  dishes  to  the  number  of  twelve.  Largesse^  meaning, 
it  is  to  be  supposed,  a  scattering  of  money  to  the  people, 
was  aied  three  times  in  the  Sling's  chamber,  in  the  great 
chamber,  and  in  the  hall  of  the  King  and  Queen.  After 
dinner  the  minstrels  played,  and  the  King  and  Queen,  and 
the  ladies,  knights,  gentlemen  and  gentlewomen  danced. 
Such  is  a  minute,  full,  and  particular  account  of  this  the 
most  gay  and  gorgeous  wedding  that  probably  ever  occurred 
in  Edinburgh.  Perusing  these  very  graphic  details*  in  the 
middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  one  is  apt  to  imagine  them 

*  Liber  Cartamm  Sancte  Cnicis.  ManimenU  Ecclesie  Sancte  Cracia  de 
Edwinesborg.  4to.  Edinburgh.  1840.  Thia  interesting  pablication  and 
literary  gem  was  edited  by  that  accomplished  nobleman.  Lord  Francis 
Egerton,  now  Earl  of  EUesmere,  and  printed  and  presented  to  the  Banna- 
tyne  Club  as  his  contribution.  It  is  full  of  curious  antiquarian  matter  re- 
gaxding  the  Abbey  of  Holyrood. 


AXNALS.  15 

the  delineation  of  a  modem  coronation  rather  than  the 
marriafi;e  of  a  Scottish  monarch  in  Edinburgh  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  sixteenth  centory. 

In  1504  the  Borough-Muir,  to  the  south  of  £din- 

burgh,  was  so  overgrown  with  wood  that  the  Town 
Council  allowed  the  inhabitants  to  extend  their  houses  seven 
feet  forward  into  the  street  to  get  the  wood  disposed  of,  and 
this  accounts  for  the  wooden  fronts  still  presented  by  some 
of  the  old  houses  in  the  High  Street  and  closes  adjoining. 
James  lY.  gave  splendid  entertainments  in  Edinburgh. 

It  was  there  the  celebrated  dinner  to  the  French 

1511. 

ambassador  took  place  on  Christmas  day,  1511,  and 

he  frequently  held  gay  and  gorgeous  tournaments  in  the 

Scottish  capital,  to  which  tlie  knights  of  all  countries  resorted. 

On  the  defeat  of  James  lY.  at  the  battle  of  Flod- 

1513. 

den,  in  1513,  where  he  was  attended  by  the  Provost, 
the  Earl  of  Angus,  and  a  number  of  the  principal  inhabi- 
tants, who  mostly  perished  on  that  fatal  field, — ^Edinburgh 
was  not  only  thrown  into  mourning,  but  placed  in  a  state  of 
the  greatest  alarm  of  an  invasion  by  the  English.  On  this 
occasion  the  walls  of  the  city  were  extended  from  the  Castle 
Hill  across  the  Grassmarket,  up  tlie  Yennel,  to  the  Potter- 
row  port,  and  from  thence  by  the  spot  where  Drummond 
Street  now  stands,  to  the  Pleasance  and  foot  of  St.  Mary's 
Wynd.  The  Council  also  raised  at  tliat  time  a  Town  guard, 
consisting  of  twenty-four  men,  for  the  defence  of  the  city, 
and  ordered  artillery  to  be  purchased  for  the  same  purpose. 
On  the  Duke  of  Albany  becon^ing  regent  he  was 

received  with  great  pomp  by  the  three  estates  of  the 
kingdom,  who,  with  James  IV.'s  widow,  now  become  the 
wife  of  the  Earl  of  Angus,  and  who,  by  that  marriage,  had 
forfeited  the  regency;  met  him  at  Holyrood-house,  26tb  May 
1515.  The  same  year,  during  the  minority  of  James  Y.,  a 
serious  afiray  took  place  in  the  streets,  between  the  followers 
of  tlie  turbulent  nobles.  No  less  than  two  hundred  and 
fifty  were  slain  on  the  occasion,  the  remainder  escaped  by 


16  HISTOBT  OP  EDINBUKGH. 

the  North  Loch.  This  skinnish  is  distinguished  in  the 
annals  of  Edinburgh  by  the  qoaint  name  of  Clean  the 
CauseuHXj/. 


fi^titt  of  Satnin  JBongla^* 

Gawin  Douglas,  the  famous  Scottish  poet,  was 
bom  in  1475,  and  was  educated  for  the  church.  In 
1496  he  was  Rector  of  Hawick.  He  was  appointed  Provost 
of  the  Collegiate  Church  of  St.  Giles,  Edinburgh,  in  1509, 
and  then  became  a  denizen  of  the  ancient  citj.  His  trans- 
lation of  Virgil's  ^neid  appeared  in  1513.  A  metrical 
translation  of  a  Latin  classic  into  Scottish  was  then  an 
almost  entire  novelty,  and  Douglas  deserves,  great  credit  for 
his  execution  of  the  work.  To  each  book  he  prefixed  a  pro- 
logue of  his  own.  Printing  being  then  only  in  embryo,  his 
work  remained  in  MS.  till  1553,  when  an  edition,  including 
some  of  his  other  poems,  was  brought  out  in  London.  In 
1515  Douglas  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Dunkeld.  He  died 
in  London  in  1522. 

Li  1537  James  Y.  married  Magdalen,  daughter 
of  Francis  I.,  Eling  of  France.    The  roy^  couple 
landed  at  Leith,  and  remained  at  Holyrood-house  till  prepa- 
rations were  made  for  their  public  entry  into  the  dty,  which 
they  made  with  great  magnificence.     This  princess  died 
forty  days  after  her  marriage,  and  in  1538  Edin- 
burgh received  the  second  Queen  of  James,  also  from 
France,  Mary  of  Guise,  who  was  destined  to  act  a  conspi- 
cuous part  in  the  afiairs  of  the  city  and  of  the  kingdom. 

At  the  succession,  in  1542,  of  the  infant  Queen 

1542. 

Mary,  on  the  death,  of  her  father,  James  Y.,  a  rup- 
ture between  England  and  Scotland  took  place,  and  in 
1544  an  English  army  landed  at  Royston  (the  Duke 
of  Buccleuch's  property  near  the  modem  pier  of 
Granton),  took  the  town  of  Leith,  and  afterwards  unsuc- 


ANNAL&  17 

cessiiilly  assaulted. Edinburgh  Castle.  They  wreaked  their 
vengeance  on  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  and  made  great  devasi- 
tation  there,  as  well  as  in  the  countiy  around.  The  palace 
of  Holyrood-hottse,  and  the  castles  of  Craigmillar  and  Eos- 
lyn  were  burned  at  the  same  time. 

The  Duke  of  Somerset,  Lord  Protector  of  Eng- 
land, defeated  the  Scots  in  a  severe  battle  fought  at 
Pinkie,  tax  miles  east  irom  Edinburgh,  on  10th  September 
1547.  The  English  burned  Leith,  but  Edinburgh  was 
spared  the  calamities  of  war  on  this  occasion,  though  the 
country  around  was  again  made  a  scene  of  devastation. 

The  streets  of  Edinburgh  were  first  lighted  in 

1555,  when,  on  account  of  the  frequent  robberies, 

the  Council  ordered  lanterns  or  bowets  to  be  hung  out  in 

the  streets  and  closes  to  continue  burning  from  five  till  nine 

o'clock  evening. 

The  Bepobmatiok  from  the  errors  of  Popery  now  spread 
throughout  the  country,  and  one  of  Scotland's  most  cele- 
brated sons,  John  Knox,  came  to  Edinburgh  in  1555, 
where,  by  his  bold  and  manly  intrepidity,  and  his  earnest 
zeal  in  the  support  of  Protestantism,  he  became  the  great 
instrument  under  Providence  of  spreading  the  doctrines  of 
the  Beformation,  not  only  in  the  metropolis  of  his  country 
but  throughout  Scotland. 

The  Reformers  ffot  hold   of  the   ima^e  of  the 

1558. 

tutelary  saint  of  Edinburgh,  St.  Giles,  and  threw  it 
into  the  North  Loch,  but  when  the  Popish  priests  discovered 
their  loss,  they  obtained  a  small  image  firom  the  Greyfriars 
in  lieu  of  it,  for  their  procession  on  the  anniversary  of  the 
saint,  Ist  September  1558, — this  the  mob  in  derision  called 
Younp  St,  Gilesy  and  they  demolished  it  and  dispersed  the 
procession. 

The  adherents  of  the  Reformation  took  to  themselves  the 
name  of  The  CongregatUm^  and  their  leaders  among  the 
nobility  of  Scotland,  were  called  the  Lords  of  the  Congre- 
gation.    The  early  reformers  in  Scotland  having  themselves 

B 


18  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUROa 

been  sererely  persecutedy  it  was  not  surprising;  thongh 
much  to  be  regretted,  that  in  their  early  zeal  they  should 
have  attacked  the  ecclesiastical  buildings  of  the  Bomanists, 
and  on  the  demolition  of  some  religious  houses  at  Perth,  the 
Queen  Regent,  the  mother  of  Queen  Mary,  wrote  to  the 
magistrates  of  Edinburgh,  urging  them  to  preserve  the  peace 
of  the  city.  They  sent  deputies  to  the  Lords  of  the  Con- 
gregation, entreating  them  to  spare  the  church  buildings; 

and  on  the  Queen  Begent  entering  the  capital,  it 

was  agreed  between  her  and  the  Lords  of  the  Con- 
gregation that  each  party  should  peaceably  pursue  their 
own  religious  worship  till  the  beginning  of  the  following 
year.  The  Queen  Begent  now  went  to  Leith,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  fortify  that  town,  and  expelled  several  of  the 
inhabitants,  and  required  the  Lords  of  the  Congregation  to 
disband  their  forces.  All  this  was  considered  by  the  Lords 
as  an  infringement  of  the  late  treaty,  and  they  assembled  a 
convention  of  Peers,  Barons,  and  representatives  of  burghs, 
in  the  Tolbooth  of  Edinburgh,  where,  after  consulting  with 
John  Knox  and  WiUoz,  as  the  representatives  of  the 
Beformation  clergy,  they  decided  that  it  was  lawful  to  resist 
tyrannical  princes,  and  proceeded,  23d  October  1559,  to 
depose  the  Queen  Begent,  as  coming  within  that  category. 
Her  introduction  of  foreign  troops  into  Scotland  was  also 
considered  one  of  her  chief  crimes.  But  this  sentence  it 
was  easier  to  pass  than  to  execute,  and  a  struggle  ensued 

which  lasted  till  the  death  of  this  same  Queen  Mary 

of  Guise,  10th  June  1560. 
The  Church  in  Edinburgh  and  throughout  Scotland 
was  under  the  government  of  the  Boman  Catholics  till  1560. 
Popery  was  then  abolished  and  the  Confession  of  Faith 
approved  of,  in  the  Parliament  which  was  held  at  Edin- 
burgh, 1st  August  1560.  On  the  17th  of  that  month  the 
record  of  the  said  Parliament  is  as  follows: — "xvii  Die 
Augusti. — ^The  Confession  of  Faith'  professed  and  believed 
by  the  Protestants  within  the  realm  of  Scotland,  published 


AKKAIA  19 

by  them  in  Parliament,  and  bj  the  Estates  thereof  ratified 
and  approved  as  wholesome  and  sound  doctrine,  grounded 
upon  the  infiodlible  truth  of' God's  word,  Matthew  xxiv., 
And  this  glad  tidings  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  preached 
through  the  whole  world  for  a  witness  xmto  all  nations,  and 
then  shall  the  end  come. — ^The  Estates  of  Scotland,  with  the 
inhabitants  of  the  same  professing  Christ  Jesus  his  holy 
Evangel,  to  their  natural  countrymen.'*  Then  after  a  fur- 
ther introduction,  follows  the  first  article  of  this  Original 
Confession  of  the  Protestant  Church  of  Scotland,  which  it 
will  be  observed  differs  in  words  but  not  in  spirit  firom  the 
article  adopted  by  the  Westminster  Assembly,  the  following 
century.  ^  Of  God — ^we  confess  and  acknowledge  one  only 
God,  to  whom  only  we  must  cleave,  whom  only  we  must 
serve,  whom  only  we  must  woi'ship,  and  in  whom  only  we 
must  put  our  trust,  who  is  eternal,  infinite,  unmeasureable, 
incomprehensible,  omnipotent,  invisible,  one  in  substance, 
and  yet  distinct  in  three  persons,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost  By  whom  we  confess  and  believe  all  things 
in  heaven,  and  in  earth,  as  weU  visible  as  invisible,  to  have 
been  created,  to  be  retained  in  their  being,  and  to  be  ruled 
and  guided  by  his  inscrutable  Providence,  to  such  end  as 
his  eternal  wisdom,  goodness,  and  justice,  has  appointed 
them,  to  the  manifestatiou  of  his  ovm  glor}."*  This  was 
confirmed  by  the  first  Parliament  of  Eang  James  YI.y  held 

at  Edinburgh  1567.  t 

Mary  Queen  of  Scots  was  married  to  the  Dauphin  of 
France  in  1558,  and  he  soon  after  became  Eling,  as  Francis 
II.,  but  died  in  1560,  and  on  the  19th  August  of 
the  following  year  the  youthful  Queen  of  S^tland 
landed  at  Leith  and  proceeded  to  Holyrood*house.  Though 
received  with  great  demonstrations  of  joy,  Mary  found  every 
thing  in  much  confusion  in  Edinburgh,  ftx)m  the  antagonism 

*  The  Acts  of  tbe  ParliameDt  of  Scotland,  folio,  ifoI.  ii.,  a  d.1524-67. 
p.  525. 
t  Ibid.,  folio,  vol.  iii.,  a.  d.  1567-1592.  p.  36. 


20  HISTORY  OF  EDINBtTRQH. 

between  Popery  and  the  Reformation.  The  reformed  doc- 
trines were  in  general  acceptation  over  the  kingdom,  bat 
had  never  yet  obtained  the  support  of  the  Crown,  and  here 
was  the  young  Queen  having  mass  said  at  Holjrrood  on  the 
first  Sabbath  after  her  arrival.  This  led  to  some  rioting, 
and  although,  as  a  matter  of  prudence,  she  committed  the 
administration  of  affairs  to  Protestants,  all  her  personal  pre- 
dilections were  in  favour  of  Popery, 

The  Town  Council  entertained  the  sovereign  to  a  pom- 
pous show  and  banquet,  3d  September  1561 ;  four  thousand 
merks  Scottish  money  were  raised  for  the  occasion;  and  as  a 
specimen  of  the  style  and  manner  of  public  processions  in 
Scotland  at  that  period,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  twelve 
citizens  who  supported  the  canopy  over  the  Queen's  head 
were  apparelled  in  black  velvet  gowns,  with  coats  and 
doublets  of  crimson  satin,  and  velvet  bonnets  and  hose. 
The  citizens  in  the  procession  wore  black  silk  gowns  faced 
with  velvet,  coats  of  velvet,  and  satin  doublets,  and  the 
young  men  preceding  the  triumphal  car  were  di^essed  in 
taffeta. 

The  old  Tolbooth  building  having  fallen  into 
decay,  it  was,  by  the  Queen's  command,  taken  down, 
and  a  new  one  built  for  the  use  of  the  Court  of  Session,  at 
the  west  end  of  St.  Giles'  church, — the  Lords  of  Session 
having  threatened  to  hold  their  court  in  the  city  of  St. 
Andrews,  if  this  new  building  were  not  erected  with 
despatch. 

By  the  reformation  in  Scotland  the  monks  and  nuns, 
having  been  dispossessed  of  their  lands,  the  Town  Council 
applied  to  the  Queen  to  have  part  of  them  in  Edinburgh 
applied  to  charitable  purposes ;  the  locality  of  Black  Friars 
with  the  yards,  to  build  an  hospital  for  the  poor,  and  the 
grounds  of  the  Kirk  of  Field  to  build  a  school,  and  the 
yards  of  Greyfriars  as  a  burial-place.  The  Queen's  Majesty 
acceded  to  these  requests  by  an  answer  dated  Stirling,  17th 
August  1562. 


AKNAL&  21 

In  1564  the  government  borrowed  10,000  merks 

Scottish  money  from  the  citizens  of  Edinburgh, 
giving  them  a  charter  of  superioritj  of  the  town  of  Leith, 
as  a  quid  pro  quo  for  this  seasonable  snpplj. 

Queen  Mary  was  married  to  her  relative,  Heniy, 

Lord  Damley,  in  the  chapel  royal  of  Uolyrood- 
boose,  29th  July  1565,  and  they  were  next  day  proclaimed 
at  the  Cross  of  Edinburgh,  by  the  name  and  title  of  Henry 
and  Mary,  Eling  and  Queen  of  Scotland. 

An  Italian  musician,  of  the  name  of  David  Bizzio, 

who  had  become  a  favourite  with  the  Queen,  was 
murdered  9th  March,  1566,  when  supping  with  her  and  the 
Countess  of  Argyle  at  the  palace  of  Holyrood.  The  sup- 
posed marks  of  his  blood  are  still  exhibited  in  Queen  Mary's 
apartments.  This  event  excited  a  great  sensation,  as 
Damley  himself,  the  Earl  of  Morton,  and  Lord  Ruthven, 
were  all  parties  to  the  assassination  of  this  Italian. 

On  19th  June  1566,  James,  the  only  son  .of  Queen  Mary, 
was  bom  at  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh,  in  a  room  the  window 
of  which  is  in  the  south-eastern  battlements  of  that  fortress. 
Nearly  forty  years  afterwards  the  sovereignty  of  England 
and  Scotland  was  happily  united  for  the  first  time  in  the 
person  of  this  prince. 

Damley  had  been  an  invalid,  and  was  brouglit 

from  Glasgow  to  Edinburgh,  and  lodged  in  a  house 
called  Kirk  of  Field,  which  stood  verv  near  the  south-east 
comer  of  the  present  university.  Here  the  Queen  attended 
him,  and  had  left  him  only  a  few  hours  to  attend  an  enter- 
tainment at  the  palace  of  Holyrood,  when,  at  2  o'clock,  on 
the  morning  of  10th  Febmary  1567,  the  house  was  blown 
up  with  gunpowder,  and  the  body  of  the  King  found  dead 
in  an  adjacent  garden. 

The  Earl  of  Bothwell  was  tried  for  this  murder  before  a 
Court  of  Justice  held  at  Edinburgh,  on  the  12th  April  fol- 
lowing ;  but  appearing  with  a  powerful  armed  force  in  the 
dty,  justice  was  supposed  to  have  been  overawed,  and  be 


22  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

was  acquitted.  Two  dajs  after,  he  carried  the  sceptre  be- 
fore the  Qaeen  at  the  opening  of  Parliament,  and  on  the 
15th  of  May  1567  he  was  married  to  Queen  Maiy  at 
Holyrood. 

An  association  of  the  nobility  was  now  formed  for  the 
defence,  as  they  said,  of  Prince  James;  thej  marched  to  Edin* 
burgh — Bothwell  and  Mary  had  fled  to  Dunbar — and  after 
meeting  her  opponents  at  Carbexiy,  she  surrendered  to 
Ejrkaldy  of  Grange  on  14th  June,  and  was  brought  back 
to  the  city,  and  lodged  a  night  in  the  house  of  the  Lord 
Provost,  prior  to  her  confinement  in  Loch  Leven  Castle. 
These  melancholy,  and  disti^essing  events  are  inseparably 
connected  with  the  History  of  Edinburgh — ^but  conferred 
^o  honour  on  the  ancient  capital  of  Scotland* 

King  James  YI.  was  proclaimed  Eang  of  Scotland 
St  Edinburgh,  and  was  enthroned  at  Stirling  25th  July 
1567,  soon  after  his  mother  had  signed  her  abdication 
at  Lochleven,  and  the  Town  Council  of  Edinburgh  sent 
three  of  their  number  to  represent  the  City  at  the  coro- 
nation of  James  YI.,  29th  August  1567.  Queen  Mary's 
half  brother,  James  Stuart,  afterwards  Earl  of  Moray,  was 
chosen  regent;  he  obtained  possession  of  Edinburgh  Castle 
for  a  time,  but  during  the  struggles  that  ensued  in  Scotland 
between  King's  men  and  Queen's  men,  as  the  antagonbts 
were  called,  Edinburgh  was  occasionally  occupied  by  the 
one  party,  and  sometimes  by  the  other. 

Edinburirh  had  a  severe  visitation  of  the  plasue  in 

1568.  r     ra 

October  1568,  when  the  magistrates  issued  regular 
tions  to  endeavour  to  prevent  its  spreading.  Those  infected 
seem  to  have  been  sent  to  an  isolated  place  called  ^^The 
Mure,"  probably  the  Burgh  Muir  to  the  south  of  the  city. 

The  murder  of  the  good  regent,  the  Earl  of 

Moray,  at  Linlithgow  in  1570,  made  considerable 
confusion  in  Edinburgh;  a  strong  guard  was  appointed  to 
be  kept  in  the  city  both  by  day  and  night;  the  lords  of  Ses- 
sion thought  of  leaving  the  town,  and  were  only  prevented 


AKKAL&  23 

bj  the  Town  Council  sending  a  deputation  to  the  Liord 
Chancellor  entreating  his  influence  with  the  said  judges  not 
to  leave  the  city. 

In  1571  Queen  Elizabeth  sent  Sir  William  Drury 

1571. 

with  a  force  of  one  thousand  foot,  and  three  hundred 
horse,  to  aid  the  King's  party.  They  encamped  at  Leith, 
and  besieged  Edinburgh  Castle. 

John  Knox  was  bom  at  Gifford,  near  Haddington  in 
1 505,  and  was  descended  from  the  ancient  house  of  Ban- 
forly.*  In  1524  he  was  sent  to  St  Andrews  Uniyersity, 
and  was  a  teacher  of  philosophy  there,  when  in  1542  he 
embraced  the  doctrines  of  the  Heformadon.  He  went  to 
France  and  Switzerland  in  1554.  At  Oeneva  he  became 
intimate  with  Calvin.  During  his  absence  the  Roman  Ca* 
tholic  clergy  of  Scotland  sentenced  him  to  be  burned,  which 
was  done  by  committing  his  effigy  to  the  flames  at  the  Cross 
of  Edinburgh.  He  returned  to  Scotland  in  May  1555,  and 
after  some  remarkable  public  appearances  at  St  Andrews, 
he  was  appointed  minister  of  St  Giles's,  Edinburgh,  in 
1.760.  Knox  has  been  accused  of  being  severe  to  Queen 
Mary  in  his  conferences  with  her  at  Holyrood,  but  he  ap- 
pears to  have  been  actuated  by  an  honest  and  fearless  desire 
to  convey  the  truth  to  her  mind,  and  was  not  accustomed  to 
courtly  phraseology.  He  died  at  Edinburgh  24th 
November  1572,  aged  67  years.  His  residence  in 
Edinburgh  was  an  old  house  at  the  Netherbow,  which  is  still 
exhibited  to  strangers  as  one  of  the  antiquarian  curiosities  of 
the  city.  He  was  buried  in  the  churchyard  of  St  Giles,  near 
the  church  in  which  he  preached.  The  Regent  Morton's 
eulogium  at  his  grave  was  most  deserved:  ^^Here  lies  he 
who  never  feared  the  &ce  of  man" — and  of  him  it  may  be 

*  The  pratent  Earl  of  Raafarly  is  a  deaoencUat 


24  mSTOBT  OP  EDINBUBGH. 

saidy  that  thoagh  at  one  time  his  character  was  unjixstly 
depreciated)  he  is  now  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished reformers^  and  one  of  those  bold  and  intrepid  minds 
suited  and  required  for  the  times  in  which  he  lived. 

Btograylfe  fMin  nt  WOlUm  iftfriudOs  of  IRxmqt. 

William  Kirkaldj  of  Grange  was  a  celebrated 
man  in  his  daj.  He  was  tlie  eldest  son  of  Sir  James 
Kirkaldy  of  Grange^  in  Fife,  He  earlj  embraced  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Beformation,  and  he  was  one  of  the  conspira- 
tors against  the  persecuting  Cardinal  Beaton.  Mary  Queen 
of  Scots  surrendered  to  him  at  Carberry,  1567^  and  he  con-* 
veyed  her  to  Edinburgh  that  night,  when  she  lodged  in  the 
Chief  Magistrate's  house  at  the  Black  Turnpike,  close  by 
where  the  Tron  Kirk  now  stands. 

Earkaldy  was  governor  of  £dinbui*gh  Castle  in  1570, 
which  he  held  in  favour  of  Queen  Mary.  The  following 
jear  he  repaired  the  walls  of  the  fortress,  and  actually  pre- 
pared the  spire  of  St.  Giles  for  a  battery  to  aid  the  Castle. 
The  city  was  then  in  such  a  state  that  business  was  quite  at 
a  stand,  and  Edinburgh  was  thoroughly  a  beleaguered  city, 
the  poor  were  turned  away  from  it,  and  the  materials  of 
unoccupied  houses  used  for  fuel.  To  complete  the  calamities 
of  Auld  Beekie,  Grange  cannonaded  the  town.  He  surren- 
dered, as  already  narrated  in  the  annals,  and  this  brave 
soldier  was  hanged  in  Edinburgh,  3d  August  1573. 

Li  15T3,  when  a  treaty  had  been  concluded  between 
the  hostile  parties  which  divided  Scotland,  Kirkaldy,  the 
governor  of  Edinburgh  castle  in  the  Queen's  interest, 
refused  to  be  included  in  it,^  and  Sir  William  Drury  again 
came  to  assist  the  besiegers  of  the  Castle  with  fifteen 
hundred  foot  and  a  train  of  artillery.  The  governor  de- 
fended it  thirty-three  days,  and  after  suffering  great  hard- 
ships, only  surrendered  when  all  supplies  of  water  were  cut 


jlkkjlLS.  25 

offy  and  on  obtaining  promise  of  {avoorable  treatroent,  this 
was  disr^arded  by  Elizabeth,  and  Elirkaldj  and  his  brother 
were  hanged  at  the  cross  of  Edinburgh* ,  This  blow^  the 
snrrender  of  Edinburgh  Castle,  finaUj  broke  Queen  Mary's 
part^  both  in  Edinburgh  and  Scotland. 

The  castle  walls  were  r^Mured  in  1574,  and  the 
present  half-moon  battery  added  to  its  strength,  and 
the  same  year  a  handsome  building  was  erected  for  the 
Bpyal  Mint,  in  the  Cowgate;  on  a  square  stone  turret  which 
stiU  exists  there,  may  be  traced  an  inscription  according  to 
the  custom  of  the  times,  ^'Be  mercyfull  to  me,  0  God, 
1574.'' 

The  Earl  of  Morton,  who  succeeded  to  the  re- 

1578> 

gency,  became  so  unpopular  that  he  found  it  neces- 
saiy  to  resign  his  power  into  the  hands  of  the  young  king, 
and  on  12di  March  1578,  proclamation  was  made  at  the 
Cross  that  James  VI.  had  taken  the  reins  of  goyemment. 
Edinburgh  Castle  was  at  the  same  time  summoned  to 
surrender,  but  the  governor,  who  was  Morton's  brother,  de- 
clined the  summons,  resolved  to  stand  a  siege,  and  sent  a 
portion  of  his  garrisoD  to  the  east  end  of  the  city,  probably 

the  head  of  Canongate,  where  the  butcher  markets  were  then 
kept,  to  buy  provisions.  The  citizens  attacked  them,  and 
a  fray  ensued,  in  which  one  inhabitant  was  killed  and  sev- 
eral wounded ;  after  this  the  fortress  surrendered. 

Morton  got  the  young  sovereign  to  reinstate  him  in  au- 
thor!^, in  May  1578,  but  the  Edinburgh  citizens  soon  after 
learning  that  the  Eing  was  confined  at  Stirling,  became 
alarmed  for  his  safety,  and  thought  Morton  was  going  to 
deliver  him  up  to  Queen  Elizabeth.  They  rose  in  arms, 
and  the  dty  trained  bands  offered  their  seirices  to  the  Privy 
Council.  Morton  sent  a  herald  in  the  king's  name,  com- 
manding the  magistrates  to  apprehend  all  who  had  taken  np 
arms  in  the  city. 

The  magistrates  being  distracted  with  such  opposite  or- 
ders, the  Lford  Provost  set  off  to  Stirling,  but  was  committed 


26  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

as  a  priBoiier  to  Donne  Castle.  An  accommodation  of  mat- 
ters was  soon  effected,  and  Morton  finding  he  conld  not 
retain  the  King  in  Stirling^  it  was  deemed  expedient  to 
summon  a  meeting  of  the  states  of  Parliament,  and  on  lOtli 
July  the  Town  Council  of  Edinburgh  was  requested  to 
send  one  hundred  of  their  choicest  joang  citizens,  well 
accoutred,  to  Stirling,  at  their  own  expense,  to  guard  the 
person  of  the  sovereign  during  the  sitting  of  Parliament. 

On  20th  October  of  the  follo^ving  year,  1579, 

James  YI.  came  to  Edinburgh  to  meet  the  Scot- 
tish Parliament  Great  preparations  were  made  to  give 
him  what  was  deemed  a  magnificent  reception.  He 
alighted  from  his  horse  near  the  West  Port,  where  he  was 
received  by  the  Magistrates,  and  conducted  into  the  town 
under  a  canopy  of  purple  velvet,  and  at  the  gate  of  the 
West  Bow,  there  was  placed  a  globe  of  polished  brass,  oat 
of  which  came  a  little  boy  wha  presented  him  with  the  sil- 
ver keys  of  the  city.  In  the  High  Street  he  was  harangued 
ill  Greek,  Latin,  and  Scottish;  he  then  went  to  church  and 
heard  a  sermon.  The  windows  of  the  streets  on  this  occa- 
sion were  hung  with  pictures  and  tapestry,  and  the  streets 
strewed  with  flowers,  the  cannon  continned  firing  till  his 
Majesty  entered  the  palace  of  Holyrood. 

In  December  1580,  Morton  was  chaiqged  with 

being  a  party  to  Damley's  murder,  and  fears  were 
entertained  that  accused  of  murdering  the  &ther,  he  might 
make  an  attempt  on  the  life  of  the  son,  and  Sing  James, 
18th  January,  again  applied  to  the  Town  Council  to  raise 
a  hundred  men  as  Hackbutters  to  guard  his  person,  and  an- 
other  hundred  to  convey  Morton  from  Edinburgh  to  Dun- 
barton  Castle.  This  was  complied  with,  and  on  22d  Febru- 
ary he  demanded  another  additional  company  of  a  hundred 
men  as  a  guard  at  his  palace  of  Holyrood,  and  sixty  of  the 
best  armed  citizens  were  ordered  to  guard  the  palace  by 
night,  to  be  relieved.every  twenty-four  hours. 
The  University  of  Edinburgh  had  its  rise  and  origin  in 


ANNALS.  27 

the  Magistrates  and  Council  obtaining  the  property  of  the 
Collegiate  Church  of  St.  Mary  in  the  Field,  and  having  h|ui 
a  bequest  of  eight  thousand  merks  Scots  money  left  them 
a  few  years  before  by  Robert  Beid,  Bishop  of  Orkney,  for 
that  purpose;  they  now  resolved  to  erect  an  University 
there.  The  particulars  regarding  its  foundation  and  early 
history,  are  given  with  great  accuracy  and  minuteness  by 
Thomas  Craufurd,  who  w^as  at  a  subsequent  period  Professor 
of  Mathematics  and  Philosophy  in  the  College.  He  states 
that  ''  after  the  reformation  of  religion  was  established  in 
Scotland,  the  Ci^  of  Edinburgh  and  Ministry  thereof  were 
very  earnest  and  zealous  for  tlie  promoting  of  learning,  their 
great  intention  being  to  have  an  University  founded  in  the 
city ;  but  the  three  Universities  of  St  Andrews,  Glasgow, 
and  Old  Aberdeen,  by  the  power  of  the  bishops  bearing 
some  sway  in  the  kirk,  and  more  in  the  state,  did  abate 
their  enterprise.  In  the  year  1578,  by  the  earnest  dealing 
of  Mr.  James  Liawson,  minister  of  Edinburgh,  a  learned 
man,  whose  first  employment  had  been  a  Begency  in  the 
College  of  Aberdeen,  the  high  grammar  school  was  com 
*pleted,  in  the  place  of  the  ruined  monastery  of  the  Black- 
friars,  with  some  intention,  if  no  more  could  be  obtained,  at 
least  to  make  it  scholam  illustremj  with  profession  of  logic, 
and  the  parts  of  philosophy  in  private  classes.  The  bishops 
were  then  universally  abhorred  in  the  whole  Kirk  of  Scot^ 
land,  whereby  Mr.  James  Lawson,  Mr.  Walter  Balcanquall, 
ministers,  William  Little,  with  his  brother  Mr.  Clement 
Little,  one  of  the  Commissars  of  Edinburgh,  were  more 
vigorous  in  prosecuting  their  design ;  and  this  year,  upon 
that  intention,  Mr.  Clement  Little  dedicated  all  his  books 
for  the  beginning  of  a  library.  They  were  put  up  in  Mr. 
James  Lawson's  gallery,  a  part  of  the  lodgings  appointed 
for  the  ministry,  situated  where  the  Parliament  House  is 
now  founded.'' 

The  old  College  of  Edinburgh  was  founded  by 
James  YI.  and  the  citizens  in  1581;  it  stood  nearly 


28  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

on  the  site  of  the  present  University  bnildings,  and  consisted 
of  an  upper  and  two  lower  courts  ^surrounded  by  a  high 
wall. 

^^  This  was  the  year  for  extirpating  the  hierarchy  of 
bishops  in  Scotland,  and  coyenanting  against  it  and  other 
abuses  in  doctrine  and  discipline,  especially  Papacy,  which 
seemed  to  take  some  footing  again  in  sundry  places.  The 
time  being  favourable,  was  well  plied  by  the  ministers  and 
citizens  of  Edinburgh  before  named,  and  many  else  assist- 
ing them.  So  that  having  obtained  a  gift  of  an  University 
within  the  city,  in  the  beginning  of  this  year  they  purchased 
from  John  Gib  and  John  Fenton,  servants  to  the  Eling, 
their  right  of  the  Elirk  of  Field,  to  be  a  place  for  the  site  of 
the  intended  College:  it  consisted  then  of  two  parts,  divided 
by  a  narrow  lane  going  from  the  Cowgate,  on  the  west  side 
of  Mr.  Alexander  Guthrie's  yards,  through  the  place  where 
the  common-haQ  now  stands ;  and  from  thence  towards  the 
west,  where  now  the  back  gate  of  the  College  leadeth  to  the 
Potter-row  Port.  On  the  north-west  of  tliis  lane  was  the 
great  lodging  where  now  are  the  schools  of  the  private 
classes.  This  was  the  lodging  of  the  Duke  of  Chatelbe- 
rault,  Earl  of  Arran,  and,  by  the  forfeiture  of  the  Hamiltons, 
disponed  to  some  courtiers,  and  by  them  to  the  Magistrates 
of  Edinburgh.  On  the  east  and  south  side  of  this  land,  were 
the  yard,  chambers,  and  lodging,  and  kirk,  belonging  to  the 
collegial  provostry  and  prebendaries  of  the  Kirk-a-field,  com- 
monly called  Templwn  et  Prcefectara  SanctOB  MaricB  in 
Campis.  But  afterwards,  the  religious  houses  of  the  Black- 
friars,  Elirk-a-field,  and  Greyfriars,  thought  it  more  safe  for 
them  to  have  the  town-wall  drawn  about  without  them ; 
and  so,  they  enlarged  the  town  on  the  south  side.  This  Kirk- 
a-field  stood  along  towards  the  east  from  the  Potter-row 
Port,  having  a  garden  on  the  south,  betwixt  it  and  the  pre- 
sent town-wall:  on  the  east  end  thereof  was  the  lodging  of 
the  Provost,  where  now  the  Principal  of  the  Coll^^  hath 
his  rooms ;  and  to  the  east  fr*om  thence,  within  the  present 


AKNAIA  29 

College  yard,  were  the  prebendaries'  cbamben,  blown  up 
with  fire  at  the  murder  of  King  Henir ;  and  to  this  reli- 
gions convent  belonged  all  the  College  yards.  For  many 
years  thereafter,  John  Fenton  kept  possession  of  the  Pro- 
vost of  the  Kirk- a- field  lodging,  and  tlie  yard  lying 
thereto." 

Btograplitt  Notice  of  Grorgt  i3ttc|aiuni. 

The  celebrated  George  Buchanan  was  bom  in  Stirling- 
shire in  1506,  at  the  house  of  Moss,  on  the  Water  of  Blane, 
where  his  father  was  farmer.  Having  given  indications  of 
genius,  he  w*as  sent  to  Paris  in  1520  to  pursue  his  studies. 
He  early  embraced  the  principles  of  the  Reformation.  In 
1562  he  was  in  Edinburgh  with  Queen  Mary  instructing 
her  in  Latin ;  his  translation  of  the  Psalms  into  that  lan- 
guage was  published  a  iew  years  after. 

Buchanan  was  appointed  principal  of  St.  Leonard's  col- 
lege, St  Andrews,  in  1566.  Four  years  subsequently  he 
became  tutor  to  Kin^  James  VI.     His  History  of 

1582. 

Scotland  was  published  ill  1582,  and  he  died  28th 
September  of  tliat  year,  and  was  buried  in  the  Greyfnars 
churchyard.  Besides  his  great  learning,  Buchanan  has  al- 
ways been  traditionally  held  as  a  man  of  uncommon  wit  and 
humour. 

The  Mainstrates  obtained  a  Charter  of  erection 
for  the  College,  from  James  '\^.,  dated  Stirling,  14th 
April  1582,  entitled,  *'  Charta  Erectionis  Academise  Edin- 
burgensB.*' 

There  had  long  been  bitter  jealousies  in  Edinburgh  be- 
tween the  Merchants  and  the  Trades  part  of  the  citizens,  as 
they  were  called,  regarding  their  respective  power  in  the 
mnnicipal  elections — and  these  were  carried  so  far  as  to 
create  tumults  in  the  dty ;  but  in  1582  it  was  agreed  to 
refer  their  mutual  claims  to  the  arbitration  of  King  James 


30  HISTORY  OBL  EDINBUBGH. 

VI.,  who  accordinglj  pronounced  a  Decreet  Arbi- 
tral,  22d  April  1583,  which  along  with  a  later  De- 
creet Arbitral,  1729,  by  Lord  Ilay,  formed  the  Monicipal 
'^  Set"  of  the  city  till  the  passing  of  the  Scottish  Reform 
BiU  in  1833. 

^^  The  Council  in  March,  caused  enclose  the  present  pre- 
cinct of  the  College  with  walls;  and  being  informed  of  the 
piety,  learning,  and  wisdom  of  Mr.  Robert  Bollock,  who,  in 
the  old  College  of  St.  Andrews,  after  some  years'  profession 
of  Humanity,  had  now  gone  through  the  course  of  Philoso- 
phy with  a  class,  which  was  to  be  graduated  at  Lammas 
following,  they  prevailed  with  him  to  undertake  the  charge 
of  their  College,  and  brought  him  to  Edinburgh  the  next 
harvest.  In  October  he  began  to  teach  in  the  lower  hall  of 
the  great  lodging,  called  Hamilton  House,  there  being  a 
great  confluence  of  students  allured  with  the  worth  of  the 
man;  but  clivers  of  them  being  not  ripe  enough  in  the  Latin 
tongue,  were,  in  November  nest,  put  under  the  charge  of 
Mr.  Duncan  Nairn,  a  learned  and  pious  young  man,  who, 
upon  Mr.  Bollock's  recommendation,  was  chosen  second 
master  of  the  College.  These  he  exercised  that  year  in  the 
Latin  tongue,  and  the  year  following  prosecuted  the  studies 
of  the  Greek,  this  being  the  second  class  succeeding  to  Mr. 
Bollock's  own  class.  Their  school  was  the  same  where  now. 
the  Professor  of  Humanity  teacheth :  which  continued  to  be 
the  schools  for  the  Bajan*  Class  till  the  year  1602  or  there- 
by: the  lower  hall  was  then  for  the  Semibajan  Class,  and 
for  the  public  meeting  of  the  four  classes.  The  Bachelors 
met  in  the  chamber  above  the  school  of  Humanity,  both  the 
one  and  the  otlier  being  then  larger.  The  Magistrates  con- 
vened in  the  high  hall;  which  was  also  the  sglemn  place  of 
meeting  at  public  acts,  examinations  and  graduations.  The 
present  auditories  of  the  semies  and  bachelors  were  em- 
ployed for  chambers,  there  being  none  else  beside,  except 

*  Janior. 


annalbl  31 

the  fourteen  little  chambers^  now  called  the  Old  Beid  Cliam- 
bers,  on  the  north  side  of  the  little  close. 

In  1584  the  Town  Council,  for  the  dignity  and 
honour  of  the  City,  ordered  that  the  Chief  Magis- 
trate, who  was  then  also  ex  officio  the  representative  of  the 
city  in  parliament,  should  be  attended  during  the  conten- 
tion of  estates  to  and  fix>m  the  Tolbooth  and  the  Abbev  of 
Holyrood-house,  by  twenty  of  the  principal  citizens  specially 
summoned  from  the  different  quarters  of  the  town. 

It  was  also  that  year  ordered  by  the  Council,  to  prevent 
any  broils  or  disorders  in  the  streets,  that  every  night  at 
ten  o'clock,  there  should  be  sounded  fbr^  strokes  on  the 
great  dty  bell,  after  which  no  person  to  be  on  the  streets 
under  the  penalty  of  twenty  shillings  Scottish  and  imprison- 
ment. This  certainly  reminds  one  of  ^the  curfew  tolling 
the  knell  of  parting  day.' 

The  plague  of  pestilence,  which  had  begun  in  the 
end  of  the  former  year,  riiged  vehemently  all  this 
year,  so  that  in  May  all  the  scholars  were  dissipate,  and 
Mr.  Robert  RoUock,  with  Mr.  Duncan  Nairn,  second  mas- 
ter, departed  of  the  town ;  yet  the  Council  vigorously  pro- 
secuted the  fabric  till  the  court  was  enclosed,  choosing 
Andrew  Sclater,  late  Bailie,  master  of  work,  and  treasurer 
or.  collector  of  the  College  rents.  In  the  beginning  of  No- 
vember foUowed  a  great  revolution  of  affairs;  for  Captain 
James  Stewart,  arising  by  degrees  to  immoderate  power, 
being  made  Earl  of  Arran,  and  Chancellor  of  Scotland, 
spared  not  to  tread  upon  the  Nobility.  William  Little,  a 
great  friend  to  the  College,  was  elected  Provost  of  Edin- 
burgh ;  for  Captain  James  Stewart,  to  keep  the  town  at  his 
devotion,  had  caused  himself  to  be  elected  Provost  of  the 
dty,  upon  the  Sing's  letter,  and  Mr.  William  Stewart  to 
be  joint  derk  with  Mr.  Alexander  Guthrie. 

In  the  end  of  this  year,  the  National  Covenant  was  sub- 
scribed in  the  College  by  Mr.  RoUock  and  Mi.  Nairn,  mas- 
ters of  the  same,  and  by  Mr.  John  Craig,  the  King's  minis- 


32  HISTOBY  OP  EDINBUBOH. 

ter,  who  had  framed  the  draught  thereof,  and  by  Mr.  James 
Hamilton,  minister,  who,  daring  the  banishment  of  Mr. 
Lawson  and  Mr.  Balcanqoall,  was  brought  in  to  preach  in 
the  city.  An  ordinance  was  also  passed,  that  all  who  should 
take  degrees  in  the  College  should  subscribe  the  same.** 

In  1586,  when  Queen  Mary  was  condemned  to 
death,  the  clergy  of  Edinburgh  refused  to  obey  the 
King's  orders  to  pray  that  her  mind  might  be  illuminated 
with  truth;  probably  this  was  from  jealousy  of  the  state  in- 
terfering with  the  ecclesiastical  power,  a  refusal  which  re- 
flected no  honour  on  these  ecclesiastics. 

"  In  the  beginning  of  February,  the  fear  of  the  plague 
being  removed,  the  masters  and  students  of  the  College  re- 
turned and  prosecuted  their  courses.  Mr.  Robert  RoUock, 
although  he  still  taught  a  private  class,  was  created  Prin- 
cipal of  the  College,  9th  February;  about  the  which  time, 
Mr.  Duncan  Nairn,  second  Regent,  deceased  with  great 
regret.  In  whose  place  succeeded  Mr.  Charles  Lumsden, 
thereafter  minister  at  Duddingston,  bred  in  St.  Andrews 
under  Mr.  RoUock.  About  the  same  time,  John,  Lord 
Hamilton,  for  his  elder  brother,  James,  Earl  of  Arran,  being 
overtaken  with  phrensy,  lived  retired,  being  now  restored  to 
his  estate,  laid  claim  to  the  lodging  in  the  Ejrk-a-field, 
which  had  heen  converted  and  employed  for  the  schools  of 
Philosophy:  the  debate  was  put  off  for  a  time.  On  the 
last  of  August,  privilege  of  a  month's  "  vacancy'*  was  granted 
to  the  students  of  the  College,  which  thereafter  was  enlarged. 
In  the  beginning  of  October,  Mr.  Charles  Lumsden  de- 
mitting,  and  it  being  thought  fit  that  a  third  class  should 
begin,  programmes  were  set  forth  to  invite  able  spirits  to 
give  trial  for  two  Regents'  places.  After  public  dispute  for 
ten  days,  by  six  young  men,  the  judges  appointed  by  the 
Provost  and  Council,  declared  Mr.  Adam  Colt,  afterwards 
minister  at  Inveresk,  and  Mr.  Alexander  Scrimger,  there- 
after minister  at  Irvine,  to  be  best  qualified  for  the  profes- 
sion of  Philosophy." 


ANNALS.  d3 

James  YL,  to  extuigoish  the  family  feuds  among  his 
nobles,  called  them  to  meet  at  Holjroodhonae  in 
1587,  to  hold  a  royal  banquet  of  reoondUation ; 
they  walked  hand  in  hand  each  with  his  new-formed  firiend, 
to  the  Cross  of  Edinburgh,  where  they  partook  of  a  cold 
collation,  and  drank  to  each  other  in  pledge  of  mutual  r^ 
condlement. 

^'  Mr.  James  Ritchie,  writer,  his  houses  in  the  Kirk-apfield, 
and  wynd*  thereof,  with  tlie  yard,  were  purchased  to  the 
CoDege.  In  August,  Master  Robert  RoUock  did  laure  at 
the  first  class  which  had  passed  under  his  charge  in  the 
College  of 'Edinbmrgh,  after  eveiy  one  of  them  had  sub- 
scribed the  Covenant.  They  were  to  the  number  of  forty- 
ei^ht,  among  whom  were  many  able  wits,  namely,  Mr. 
Charles  Ferme,  Mr.  Philip  Heslop,  Mr.  Henry  Charteris, 
and  Mr.  Patrick  Sands,  who  were  thereafter  Regents,  and 
the  two  last  came  to  be  Principals  of  the  College. 

After  the  solemnity  of  the  laureation,  the  Council,  Min- 
isters, and  Elirk-session,  by  the  advice  and  concurrence  of 
tlie  Presbytery,  called  Mr.  Robert  Rollock  from  his  Regency 
to  be  Professor  of  Divinity,  which  profession  continued  in 
the  person  of  the  Prinoipal  of  the  College  to  the  year 
1620. 

In  October,  followed  a  public  disputation  for  election  of 
a  successor  to  Mr.  Robert  Rollock  in  the  profession  of  Phi- 
losophy. The  four  above-named  gave  their  trial,  and  by  the- 
appointed  judges  were  all  four  approven :  Mr.  Phihp  Heslop 
being  most  approven,  was  chosen  for  the  charge  then  vacant. 
^Ir.  Rollock,  also,  beside  the  profession  of  Divinity,  was 
called  to  preach  on  the  Sunday  morning  in  the  East  Kirk 
of  St.  Giles.'' 

The  famous  Spanish  Armada  approaching  the 

coast  of  Scotland  in  1588,  the  Town  Council  ordered 

three  hundred  men  to  be  raised  in  defence  of  the  city,  but 

*  TliiB  was  most  probably  the  present  College  Wynd,  the  former  name 
of  which  was  the  Wjnd  of  the  blessed  Marr-in-the-Field. 

C 


34  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

the  elements  more  efiectoallj  destroyed  that  vast  fleet  than 
those  valoroTis  citizens  could  have  done. 

James  VI.  and  his  Queen,  Ann  of  Denmark, 
landing  at  Leith,  1st  Maj  1590,  proceeded  to  Holy- 
rood  amid  great  rejoicings,  and  she  was  crowned  Queen  of 
Scotland  there  on  the  following  Sabbath. 

^^  In  February,  the  communing  betwixt  the  Lords  of  Ses- 
sion and  Town  Council  ended  in  a  contract,  whereby  the 
Lords  of  Session,  for  the  first  part,  the  Council  of  Edin- 
burgh for  the  second,  the  Advocates  and  Clerks  of  the  Sig- 
net for  the  third,  each  pai*ty  advanced  £1,000,  making  up  a 
stock  of  £3,000  Scots,  for  the  which  the  Town  Council 
obliged  themselves  to  pay  £300  Scots  a-year,  towards  the 
maintenance  of  a  Professor  of  the  Laws.  Notwithstanding, 
Mr.  Adam  Newton,  Advocate,  who  first  was  called  to  that 
place,  and  Sir  Adrian  Damman,  who  upon  removal  of  Mr. 
Adam  Newton,  as  not  having  the  approbation  of  the  Town 
Council  at  his  entry,  was  second  in  that  charge,  both  of 
them  did  only  profess  Humanity  publicly  in  the  College, 
without  any  mention  of  the  laws." 

James  VI.  and  his  twelfth  parliament  further  rati- 
^^^'    fied  the  Presbyterian  form  of  church  government 
in  1592,  and  thei*6  existed  in  the  capital  a  standing  Council 
of  the  Church,  to  manage  its  a£Pairs. 

In  1594,  Edinburgh,  to  testify  its  loyalty,   sent 

a  deputation  to  Stirling  of  one  hundred  citizens, 

with  ten  tuns  of  wine  to  the  baptism  of  Prince  Henry,  the 

son  of  James  VI.    This  son  was  afterwards  Prince  of  Wales, 

but  was  cut  off  in  early  life  when  of  high  promise. 

In  1595  a  violent  quarrel  took  place  between 
James  VI.  and  the  clergy,  especially  the  Edinburgh 
ministers,  he  affirming  that  they  had  abused  the.  liberty  of 
the  pulpit  by  attacking  him  personally,  and  interfering 
with  public  affairs,  and  as  the  citizens  were  represented 
to  the  Eling  as  taking  part  with  the  clergy,  he  ordered 
twenty-five  of  the  principal  inhabitants  to  leave  Edinburgh 


ANNALS.  ,  35 

^dthin  twenty-four  hours.  This  information  was  oommuni- 
cated  to  the  public  in  an  ordinary  week-day  sermon  by  Mr. 
Waiter  Balcanquhall,  and  produced  a  powerful  sensation. 
After  sermon,  the  barons  and  gentlemen  were  invited  to 
meet  in  the  Little  or  Tolbooth  kirk,  when  Mr.  Robert  Bruce 
addressed  them  on  the  danger  incurred  by  the  return  of 
some  of  the  Popish  lords,  and  the  favour  shown  to  them 
compared  with  the  rigour  manifested  to  the  professors  of  tlie 
Reformed  religion,  and  they  held  up  their  hands  and  swore 
to  defend  their  religious  faith  against  all  opposition. 

A  deputation  was  then  sent  to  wair  on  the  King,  who 
happened  to  be  in  the  Tolbooth,  with  the  lords  of  Session. 
An  altercation  ensued,  and  the  King  left  them,  ordering  the 
gates  of  the  city  to  be  shut  behind  him.  A  rumour  spread  in 
the  Tolbooth  that  the  town  was  arming ;  a  panic  ensued — a 
mob  collected — ^but  Sir  Alexander  Hume,  the  Lord  Provost, 
persuaded  them  to  disperse  and  go  quietly  home.  The  King 
sent  the  Earl  of  Mar  to  inquire  the  reason  of  the  riot,  and 
the  Earl  advised  the  clerg3rmen  whom  he  saw  to  recommend 
a  respectful  statement  of  grievances  to  be  presented  to  liis 
Majesty. 

A  petition  was  drawn  up  and  sent  to  the  King  the  same 
evening  at  Holyrood,  but  it  was  communicated  to  them  that 
he  was  greatly  displeased  with  their  conduct,  and  next  morn- 
ing he  set  off  to  Linlithgow.  He  left  a  proclamation,  which 
was  published  at  the  Cross,  stigmatising  the  late  riot  as  a 
treasonable  uproar,  and  ordered  the  courts  of  law  to  leave 
the  city  as  a  place  unfit  for  the  administration  of  justice. 
The  magistrates,  alarmed  for  the  consequences,  resolved  on 
submission,  but  the  clergy  determined  to  brave  the  tempest. 
The  Council  sent  a  deputation  to  Linlithgow,  but  the  King 
would  receive  no  apology.  The  other  judicatories  were  re- 
moved to  Leith,  and  the  Court  of  Session  ordered  to  Perth. 
The  King  entered  Edinburgh  with  great  pomp,  to  meet  a 
convention  of  the  Estates  on  1st  January  1596,  when 
he  treated  tlie  capital  as  if  it  were  a  conquered  city, 


36  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

and  behaved  towards  the  Magistrates  and  Council  with  sov- 
ereign contempt,  and  thej  were  ordered  to  be  tried  for  trea- 
son; whereon  the  magistrates  resigned,  and  for  fifteen  days 
Edinburgh  continued  without  either  magistrates  or  min- 
isters. 

At  hut  hi$  Highness  took  pity  on  the  town,  ordered  a  fine  of 
20,000  merks,  and  recalled  the  Courts  of  Justice.  "  Such," 
as  the  faithM  historian  of  Scotland  remarks,*  ^^was  the 
punishment  inflicted  for  a  riot,  in  which  no  person  was 
hurt,  no  property  damaged,  which  the  strictest  investigation 
could  trace  to  no  specific  origin,  and  in  which,  after  the 
most  minute  diligence,  no  respectable  individual  in  the  city 
could  be  implicated." 

The  Princess  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  James  YI.,  and 
afterwards  Queen  of  Bohemia,  from  whom  is  lineally  de- 
scended the  present  royal  family,  was  baptized  at  Holyrood, 
1st  December  1596 — the  Loi'd  Provost  and  Magistrates  at- 
tending upon  the  occasion. 

Btogtaiil^it  Notice  of  yttnttpal  Hollocit* 

Robert  RoUock,  the  first  Principal  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Edinburgh,  was  bom  in  1555,  and  received 
])is  education  at  St.  Andrews.  The  magistrates  of  Edin- 
burgh invited  him  in  1583  to  take  the  academical  charge 
of  their  infant  University,  which  was  founded  by  James  VI. 
the  preceding  year.  He  was  the  sole  teacher,  and  his  high 
character  drew  a  number  of  pupils  to  the  Scottish  capital. 
Forty-eight  graduated  the  first  year.  With  the  Principal- 
ship  he  combined  the  Professorship  of  Theology  after  his 
first  year,  and  preached  in  Edinburgh  regularly  every  Sab- 
bath. He  was  a  man  of  simple  character  and  primitive 
piety,  and  part  of  his  duties  was  to  pray  in  public  with  the 
students  every  morning. 

*  Baclianan's  History  of  Scotland,  book  ii. 


ANKiOJB.  37 

fiollock  was  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  held  At 
Btmdee  in  1597.  It  was  aUeged  that  James  VI.  took  ad* 
vantage  of  bis  facility  of  disposition.  In  cburcb  matters  his 
creed  was,  ^  that  the  wise  Maker  of  this  world  had  tied  tbe 
church  and  state  together  with  a  brotherly  and  adamantine 
chain.''  He  died  ttth  January  1598,  and  he  was  so  much 
esteemed  that  his  fdneral  was  attended  by  a  great  part  of 
the  population  of  Edinbnrgh. 

Accuracy  of  dates  is  of  essential  importance  in  all 
histories,  it  therefore  may  here  be  mentioned  that 
the  year,  which  was  formerly  held  as  commencing  on  the 
twenty-fifth  March,  was  now  ordained  to  begin  on  1st  Jan- 
uary 1600.  This  alteration,  when  unnoted,  is  very  apt  to 
lead  to  confusion. 

The  Due  de  Bohan  states  in  his  Travels,*  that  in  the 
year  1600  Edinburgh  was  the  chief  town  in  Scotland,  and 
residence  of  the  King,  that  the  town  was  about  one  thou- 
sand paces  in  length,  and  four  or  five  hundred  in  breadth, 
and  that  there  was  nothing  remarkable  in  it  but  the  great 
street,  which  was  very  long  and  broad,  extending  finum  one 
end  of  the  town  to  the  other,  that  the  houses  were  not 
sumptuous,  being  almost  built  of  wood,  but  that  the  town 
was  full  of  inhabitants. 


Xotice  of  JFolm  Cratg. 

John  Craig,  the  colleague  of  John  Knox,  was 
bom  in  1512.  He  w*as  educated  at  St.  Andrews. 
After  being  many  years  on  the  Continent,  he  came  to  Edin- 
burgh in  1560,  and  having  nearly  forgotten  the  vernacular 
tongue,  he  preached  for  some  time  in  Latin  at  the  Magda- 
len Chapel,  Cowgate.  He  afterwards  became  minister  of 
the  Canongate,  and  was  subsequently  chosen  colleague  to 
Knox  in  the  city.    He  died  in  1600. 

*  Voyage,  Due  de  Boban. 


38  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

On  the  death  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  24th  March 

1603 

1608,  James  YI.  was  called  from  Edinburgh  to  Lon- 
don, where  he  became  also  King  of  England  as  James  I. — 
Thus  Edinburgh  ceased  to  be  the  residence  of  a  monarcL 

Before  leaving,  James  went  to  St*  Giles'  church,  publicly 
to  bid  farewell  to  his  people.  The  minister  preached  an  ex-* 
hortatory  discourse,  and  at  its  conclusion  James  addressed 
the  audience  in  terms  of  warm  finendship,  and  assured  them 
that  his  power  and  inclination  to-  serve  them  would  be  now 
increased. 

In  1603,  James  VI.  granted  to  the  City  a  charter 
which  has  always  «been  designated  'par  excelUncej  —  The 
Golden  Charter.  The  original  was  in  Latin,  but  it  is  so 
important  in  many  of  its  bearings,  and  has  been  found  so 
valuable  in  preserving  the  rights  of  Edinburgh,  even  in  its 
modem  litigations,  that  we  have  given  the  English  transla- 
tion of  it  among  the  Historical  Documents  appended  to  this 
Part. 

^^  The  plague  which  had  broken  forth  in  the  end  of 

1604  ^  ^ 

'"^  the  fomer  year,  raged  very  vehemently,  so  that  Mr. 
John  Adamson  was  forced  to  prevent  the  ordinary  time  of 
laureation,  the  students  being  dissipate  about  the  20th  of 
May,  by  admitting  his  disciples  of  the  17th  class  to  the 
number  of  twenty-five,  to  the  degree  of  Masters,  without 
particular  examination,  only  sustaining  the  Theses  publicly 
upon  the  28th  of  May." 

HioqtdLf^it  j^ottre  of  Gtnqt  iSannatmu* 

1607.  ^^""^  Bannatyne,  from  whom  the  Bannatyne 
Club  took  their  title,  was  bom  22d  February  1545. 
He  wrote  some  poems  himself,  and  during  a  period  of  pes* 
tilence  transcribed  his  celebrated  MS.,  a  folio  volume  of 
eight  hundred  pages,  a  literary  treasure  of  poetry  which 
would  otherwise  have  been  lost,  and  which  has  endeared  his 
name  to  all  antiquaries.     Sir  Walter  Scott  wrote  a  memoir 


ANKAL&  39 

of  bim,  which  was  printed  for  the  Bannatyne  Club.  He 
I  became  a  burgess  and  guild  brother  of  Edinburgh  in  1587. 
'  He  died  about  1607.  The  objea  of  the  Bannatyne  Club, 
established  in  1823,  was  to  preserve  curious'  literary  memo- 
rials of  past  ages,  and  its  members  have  consisted  of  many 
of  the  highest  in  the  literary  circles  of  Edinburgh. 

The  first  introduction  of  coaches  in  Edinburgh 
seems  to  have  been  in  1610,  when  Henry  Ander- 
son, a  native  of  Pomerania,  offered  to  bring  from  the  conti- 
nent coaches  and  waggons,  with  horses  to  draw  them,  and 
servants  to  attend.  A  patent  was  granted  him,  conferring 
the  exclusive  privilege  for  fifteen  years  of  keeping  coaches 
to  run  between  Edinburgh  and  Leitb,  he  agreeing  not  to 
take  more  than  twopence  sterling  for  each  passenger.  It  is 
remarkable  that  two  hundred  and  forty-five  years  afterwards, 
the  outside  fares  on  the  omnibus  coaches  running  between 
Edinburgh  and  Leith  should  be  nominally  at  the  same  rate. 

Stograiii^te  Vsrtin  of  Sftf^n  Kayter. 

The  celebrated  John  Napier  was  bom  at  Mer- 
chiston,  near  Burntsfield  links,  Edinburgh,  1550. 
He  was  educated  at  St.  Andrews.  He  afteru^ards  lived  a 
retire<l  studious  life  at  his  seat  of  Merchiston  Castle,  where 
is  still  to  be  seen  tlie  room  in  which  he  studied.  He  had 
applied  himself  for  years  to  discover  a  mode  of  abbreviating 
the  calculations  necessary  for  the  solution  of  trigonometrical 
problems.  His  efforts  were  successful,  and  in  1614  his 
books  of  logarithms  was  published.  This  discovery  gave 
him  an  European  reputation.  He  died  at  Merchiston,  3d 
April  1617,  and  was  buried  at  St.  Giles*  Cathedral,  where 
a  tablet  was  erected  to  his  memoiy. 


On  9th  April  1618,  James  revisited  Edinburgh, 
and  was  received  with  much  fulsome  flatter}',  kno^^7) 


40  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGK 

as  likely  to  be  acceptable  to  him.  The  citizens  entertained 
him  at  a  somptaoos  banquet,  and  presented  him  with  lO^OOO 
merks,  in  double  golden  angel  coins,  in  a  silver  basin. 

The  Town  Council,  in  1620,  purchased  ten  acres 
of  ground,  called  the  High  Rigs,  which  include  the 
area  now  occupied  by  Herioc's  Hospital,  the  Charity  Work- 
house, and  part  of  the  Greyfriars  burying-ground,  and  they 
encloseil  this  ground  by  an  addition  to  the  city  wall,  com- 
mencing about  the  middle  of  the  Yennel,  and  running  in  a 
circular  line  to  Bristo  Port, — this  included  that  part  of  the 
city  wall  which  many  of  our  readers  will  recollect  at  Teviot 
Row  and  Bristo  Street. 

It  was  enacted  by  Parliament  in  1621,  that  the 

1621 

houses  in  Edinburgh,  instead  of  being  composed  of 
straw,  deals  or  boards,  should  thenceforth  be  covered  with 
slates,  lead,  tiles,  or  thack-stones. 

Stogray^tc  fi^ntitt  of  ^nOteio  Hart 

Andrew  Hart  was  a  printer  and  bibliopole  in  Edin- 

1621 

bui^h  about  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century.  He 
was  wont  to  import  books  from  abroad,  and  ultimately  became 
a  publisher  also.  He  even  had  books  printed  in  Holland 
about  1600;  as  the  phrase  he  adopted,  stated,  ^^at  his  ex- 
pense." His  shop  was  situated  in  the  High  Street,  on  the 
north  sidiB  near  the  Cross,  about  Craig's  Close,  where  Wil- 
lison  afterwards  printed  the  Edinburgh  Review.  Hart's 
Bible,  1610,  was  considered  a  specimen  of  fine  typography. 
He  published  an  edition  of  Barbour's  Bruce.  His  death 
occurred  in  1621. 

BCogtayi^te  fiotUt  of  9nDntai  iKtlinlU. 

The  famous   Andrew  Melville  was    bom   near 

1622 

Montrose,  1st  August  1545.  He  studied  at  the 
Universities  of  St.  Andrews  and  Paris,  with  a  great  reputa- 


ANNAUS.  41 

tion  for  claRsicffl  learning.  In  1574  the  Regent  Morton  in- 
Tiled  him  to  be  tutor  to  his  sons  in  Edinburgh.  He  iras 
afterwards  appointed  Principal  of  Glasgow  College,  where 
he  greatly  promoted  the  improvement  of  education  through- 
out Scotland.  In  1580  he  got  a  similar  appointment  at  St. 
Andrews.  For  declining  the  judgment  of  the  Scottish 
Privy  Council  he  was  condemned  to  imprisonment  in  Edin- 
burgh Castle,  but  he  escaped  to  England.  In  158.7,  and 
two  later  years,  he  was  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly. 
At  the  coronation  of  Ann  of  Denmark,  the  queen  of  James 
VI.,  at  Holyrood,  he  delivered  a  Latin  poem  which  was  sub- 
sequently  printed  and  greatly  admired.  In  1606  he  was 
summoned  by  the  king  to  London  to  consult  on  ecclesiasti- 
cal matters.  His  boldness  and  intrepidity  of  language  to 
the  sovereign,  though  calculated  to  be  useful  to  his  country, 
gave  ofi'ence  to  James,  and  he  was  imprisoned  for  four  years 
in  the  Tower.  On  his  release  he  became  a  Professor  in  the 
University  of  Sedan  in  France,  where  he  died  in  1622.  Dr. 
M'Crie  wrote  a  valuable  biography  of  this  eminent  Scots- 
man, a  work  we  would  reconmiend  to  our  readers. 

Biogtairi^tt  fijoUtt  of  Georgt  Weriot 

George  Heriot  was  bom  at  Edinburgh  in  1563.  He  was 
brought  up  as  a  goldsmith  with  his  father.  He  married 
Christian  Maijoribanks,  daughter  of  an  Edinburgh  citizen. 
He  was  appointed  goldsmith  to  King  James  Yl.  in  1597,' 
and  foUowed  his  master  to  London  on  his  accession  to  the 
English  throne.  His  second  wife  was  Alison  Primrose, 
daughter  to  the  derk  of  the  Scottish  privy  council.  Heriot 
was  a  decent  respectable  citizen ;  he  died  12th  Feb- 
ruary 1624,  leaving  the  bulk  of  his  large  fortune  to 
the  provost,  bailies,  ministers,  and  ordinary  council  for  the 
time  being,  of  the  town  of  Edinbm*gh,  in  perpetuity;  and  for 
purchasing  certain  lands  to  belong  to  an  hospital,  to  be 
erected  and  employed  for  the  maintenance,  relief,  and  edu- 


42  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

cation  of  so  many  poor  fatherless  boys,  freemen's  sons  of 
the  town  of  Edinburgh. 

This  palace  for  poverty,  as  it  may  well  be  called,  was 
foanded  1st  July  1628,  and  built  from  a  design  by  Inigo 
Jones.  It  was  not  opened  for  the  purposes  of  its  institu-* 
tion  till  11th  April  1659. 

From  the  new  town  being  chiefly  built  on  the  lands  be- 
longing to  this  hospital,  its  revenues  have  now  risen  to  an 
amount  considerably  above  £15,000  a-year. 

We  need  scarcely  mention  that  George  Heriot  was  the 
"  Jingling  Geordie**  of  the  author  of  Waverley  in  the 
Fortunes  of  Nigel.  ^ 

In  1625  the  nightly  guard  of  thirty  men  to  watch 
the  town  was  given  up,  and  the  old  practice  reverted 
to,  of  the  citizens  by  turns  watching  every  twenty-fifth 
night. 

James  VI.  died  25th  March  1625.  The  Chapel  and 
Palace  of  Holyrood  were  hung  with  black  on  the  occasion. 


HISTORICAL  DOCUMENTS  . 

CONNECTED  WITH  PART  FIRST. 


^X»<MMMMMMMMM»*^<MM»^»^M»»»»»*»^»*W^»M» 


EDINBURGH  CITY  WALLS. 

The  origin  and  history  of  the  fortifications  or  City  Walls 
of  Edinburgh,  is  one  of^verr  great  interest  to  those  who 
have  attended  at  all  to  the  changes  and  progress  of  the 
metropolis  of  Scotland.  Maitland,  though  a  little  quaint 
and  prolix  in  his  style,  gives  a  tolerably  correct  account  of 
them,  beginning  with  James  II.'s  authorization  of  the  ori- 
'ginal  fortification  in  1450 — we  therefore  transfer  his  nar- 
rative to  the»e  pages.  Sir  Walter  Scott  at  a  much  later 
period  said  that  in  his  youth  it  used  to  be  a  great  ploy  to 
dimb  the  said  walls,  and  he  used  often  to  join  in  it,  though 
with  his  lame  foot  it  was  no  easy  job. 

These  ancient  walls  are  now  so  rapidly  disappearing,-  that 
it  becomes  desirable  and  interesting  to  preserve  the  various 
memorials  regarding  them,  Maitland  says: 

^  Edinburgh  having  for  many  ages  continued  open  and  fenceless, 
became  a  great  sufferer  by  the  numerous  attacks  of  enemies  who 
frequently  sacked  and  burned  it.  James  II.  of  Scotland  granted 
to  U)e  inhabitants  the  following  cbarter: 

Jamesy  hy  the  yraoe  of  God,  King  of  Scottis,  txU  aU  and  sindry 
our  lA&pet  and  Sidktu,  to  quhaii  knaiwledye  yir  our  Letres 
sal  cume,  Oreting^ 

'Foralsmykle  as  we  ar  informit.,  be  cure  well  belovettis  the 
Provest  and  Communite  of  Edynburgh,  yat  yai  dreid  the  evil  and 
skeith  of  oure  ennemies  of  England;  we  have  in  favour  of  yaroe, 
and  for  the  zele  and  affectioune  that  we  have  to  the  Provest  and 
Communite  of  oure  said  Burgh;  and  for  the  comoune  proffit 
grauntit  to  thaim,  fall  licence  and  leifif  to  fosse,  bulwark,  wall, 


44  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

toure,  turate,  and  uther  wab  to  strength  oure  fonaids  Burgh,  in 
quhat  maaer  of  wise  or  degre  that  beis  sene  maste  spedeftiii  to 
thaim/  ( 

Given  under  our  grete  seale,  at  Strivelyny  the  last  day  of  ' 
Aprile,  and  of  oure  R^ne,  the  thretene  yhere,  anno  1450. 

The  King  having,  by  the  above  grant  empowered  the  Edin- 
burghen  to  fortify  their  town,  he  likewise  by  a  new  grant,  en- 
abled them  to  raise  money  for  that  purpose,  as  will  appear  by  the 
following  charter: 

James,  hy  the  grace  of  Godt  King  of  S<^ttis,  HH  aU  and  rindty 
our  Lieges  and  Subdieiity  to  ^uAow  hnaiwlege  thvr  <ywr  Letters 
sail  cumey  GreHng, 

'  Foralsmekle  as  we  have  for  the  comoune  profit,  the  zele  and 
love  yat  we  have  to  oure  wele  belovettis,  the  Burges  and  Com- 
monte  of  Edinburgh,  grauntit  to  thaime  licence  to  fosse,  buUwark, 
wall,  toure,  and  turate  the  said  Burgh  for  the  keping  and  defens 
thereof  in  case  cure  aid  enemyis  of  England,  adres  thaime  to  in- 
vade the  said  oure  Comburges.'  It  is  oure  will,  and  we  charge 
aU  and  sindry  the  Burges,  nychtbours  and  indwellaris  of  the  said 
Toune,  and  alsa,  thaim  yat  hes  landis,  annualis,  or  possessions, 
wythin  it,  to  help  contribic  and  supple  to  the  said  fortyffeing  and 
strengthing  of  our  said  Burgh  efter  the  valew  of  thair  rentis» 
landis,  possessionis,  annellb,  and  faculte  of  thair  gudis  being 
within  the  said  Burgh,  and  at  the  ordinance  and  avise  of  the  Con- 
sul! and  Commonte  of  the  said  Toune;  and  that  alswell  the  oute- 
burges  and  occupiaris  of  the  fredome  of  the  said  Burgh ;  And 
personis  having  landis  or  anneilis  within  it,  contribit  thereto  as 
indwellaris  and  inhabitants  thereof. 

Quharefore,  straitlie  we  commande  and  charges  oure  Sheriff 
and  his  Deputis  of  Edinburgh,  our  Provest,  and  Bailies  of  the 
samyn  Burgh,  yat  gif  ony  oute-burges  or  occupiaris  of  the  fredome 
of  the  said  burgh,  disobeis  or  refusis  to  help  and  contribit  to  the 
making  of  the  forsaid  things,  yat  thai  compell  and  destrenyhe 
thaim  thereto  as  efferis.  And  that  thai  cast  doun  and  remove 
quhatsumevir  houses  biggit  upon  oure  wall,  or  uncouth;  the 
quhilkis  ar  needful  to  be  castin  doune,  for  the  strengtliing  of  the 
said  Toune,  and  defens  thereof.  Here  attouer,  we  charge  all  and 
sindry  personis,  having  tenementis  or  landis,  within  the  said 
Burgh,  that  thai  strenth  and  fortify  thair  hederoumys  in  gude 
and  sekerwise  as  sail  be  sene  maist  spedful  to  the  Provoste,  and 
Conaoule  of  the  said  Toune;  alsa  gif  ony  withdrawis  or  removis 
thairfra  the  said  Toune  for  the  said  cause:  It  is  oure  wil  that  the 
Sheriff,  Provoste,  and  BaiUies  of  the  said  Burgh,  mak  thair  gudis 
be  arrestit  quhairevir  thai  may  be  ourtane,  and  yat  of  the  gudis 
tliair  taxis  be  pait.  And  that  fra  thencefurth,  thai  and  thair 
a}  eres  be  disherysit  for  alwais  of  the  fredome  of  the  said  Burgh* 


AKKALa  45 

And  the  fomid  things  we  charge  to  he  done,  fulfillit,  and  exeeutit 
•s  before  writtin,  is  under  all  the  hiest  pains  and  charge  that 
efcer  may  follow/ 

Given  under  our  prive  scale  at  Strirdine,  the  28th  day  of 
Aprile,  and  of  oure  Begne,  the  ISth  yhere,  (anno  1450). 

The  wall  which  was  erected  for  the  security  of  Edinburgh,  by 
lirtoe  of  the  above  grants,  being  the  first  wherewith  this  city  was 
fortified;  it  began  at  the  north-eastern  part  of  the  rock,  whereon 
the  Castle  of  Edinburgh  is  situate;  where,  for  its  better  defence, 
was  erected  a  strong  stone  tower,  denominated  the  Wellhouse 
Tower,  from  its  vicinity  to  a  well;  and  not,  as  it  is  commonly  and 
corruptly  called,  Wallace's  Tower.  This  edifice,  the  ruins  whereof 
are  still  to  be  seen,  was  entered  on  the  inside  of  the  wall  by  two 
doors,  which  led  to  the  first  and  second  stories;  the  exterior  parts 
of  this  fortress,  regarding  the  west  and  north-west,  of  a  circular 
form,  were  perforated  with  narrow  lights  and  loop-holes  for  de- 
fence; as  were  the  fiat  sides  of  the  said  tower,  regarding  the 
north  and  south,  with  small  apertures  both  for  light  and  resistance. 
The  small  half  moon  between  the  end  of  the  wall  and  the  tower, 
seems  to  have  been  added  since  the  erection  of  the  said  wall  and 
tower.  And  without  the  said,  tower  to  the  westward,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  about  eighty  yards  seems  to  have  been  an  outwork,  by 
the  remains  of  a  strong  stone  wall  adjoining  to  the  Castle  Rock. 
The  wall  from  this  fortress  running  eastward  along  the  northern 
foot  of  the  Castle-hill  and  southern  side  of  the  Kordloch,  parallel 
with  the  buildings  at  the  w^tem  end  of  the  town,  and  winding 
southward,  ascended  the  hill;  on  the  top  of  which  it  was  inter- 
sected by  a  gate,  called  the  outer  Castle-gate:  That  this  was  one 
of  tlie  town  gates  is  manifest,  by  the  common  council's  ordering 
it,  together  with  the  spur  without  it  to  be  taken  down,  they  be- 
ing of  no  longer  service  since  the  extension  of  the  wall  with  an 
interior  gate. 

From  this  port  the  wall  descended  the  southern  side  of  the  hill 
to  Currey's  Close,  and  winding  eastwards;  part  thereof  is  still 
to  be  seen  on  tlie  northern  side  of  the  said  close,  and  at  tl)e 
southern  end  of  Johnston's  Close,  in  the  street  denominated  the 
Castle-hill;  and  continuing  its  course  eastwards,  on  the  northern 
side  of  the  street  called  the  Strait-bow,  there  was  another  aper- 
ture therein,  named  the  Upper-bow  (to  distinguish  it  from  the 
Kether-bow  or  eastern  port  of  the  town) ;  in  the  eastern  side  of 
which,  with  the  hooks  whereon  the  gate  hung,  are  still  to  be  seen 
St  the  eaatermost  turning  of  the  said  street;  whence  the  waU  pro- 
ceeding eastwards,  is  again  intersected  by  a  port  still  remaining 
in  Gray's  Close,  about  thirty  paces  besouth  the  High  Street,  lead- 
ing to  the  Mint,  but  how  denominated  I  cannot  learn.  Ajid  run- 
ning eastwards  towards  St.  Mar}^*8  Wynd,  with  a  gentle  turning 
went  on  and  joined  the  Nether-bow  contiguous  to  the  house  near 


46  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

the  soQth- western  corner  of  Leith  Wynd.  But  the  houses  on  the 
western  side  of  the  said  wynd  becoming  ruinous,  the  proprietors 
were  enjoined  by  parliament,  either  to  repair  them  within  the 
space  of  a  year  and  a  day,  or  dispose  of  them  to  those  that  would; 
and  if  they  could  not  be  disposed  of,  the  Magistrates  of  Edinburgh 
were  empowered  to  pull  them  down,  and  with  the  materials  to 
erect  a  wall  from  the  said  Netherbow  to  the  Trinity  Hospital, 
for  the  security >of  the  city  on  that  side;  And  the  said  wall  being 
since  extended  to  the  Nordloch,  the  ports  of  the  Trinity  Hospital, 
College  church,  and  Halkerston's  Wynd  were  erected  therein  for 
the  convenience  of  passage. 

By  what  has  been  said,  it  does  appear,  that  the  first  wall  of 
Edinburgh  only  enclosed  the  town  on  part  of  the  western  and 
eastern  ends,  and  southern  side;  for  the  houses  on  the  western 
side  of  Leith  Wynd  served  instead  of  a  wall  in  that  place,  as  did 
the  Nordloch  towards  the  north,  which  was  made  to  save  the  ex- 
pense of  a  wall  on  that  side,  by  erecting  a  dam  across  the  bottom, 
at  the  foot  of  Halkerston's  Wynd,  to  keep  in  the  water,  whereby 
was  formed  an  artificial  loch  where  there  was  none  before;  as 
may  be  observed  by  the  curious,  and  demonstrated  by  opening 
the  sluice  in  the  said  dam  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  said  loch  to 
let  out  the  water,  as  was  done  in  the  year  1743  when  it  became 
dry. 

Edinburgh  being  greatly  increased  by  a  number  of  additional 
buildings,  erected  on  the  southern  side  without  the  wall,  deno- 
minated the  Cowgate,  which  was  become  the  principal  street  of 
Edinburgh,  wherein  according  to  Alleseus,  stood  the  houses  of  the 
nobility  and  senators  of  the  college  of  justice,  above  two  hundred 
years  ago;  and  having,  as  already  observed,  that  the  defeat  of  our 
army  at  Flodden  in  the  north  of  England,  anno  1513,  threw  Edin-  ^ 
burgh  into  the  greatest  hurry  and  confusion,  by  mustering  and  " 
exercising  all  the  citizens  fit  to  bear  arms,  some  whereof  were  to 
march  and  join  the  army,  and  the  rest  to  defend  the- town: 
And  for  the  better  enabling  them  to  perform  the  same  the  com- 
mon council,  by  the  King's  command,  raised  money  to  fortify  the 
city;  and  in  the  mean  time,  the  better  to  prevent  the  approach  of 
the  enemy,  all  persons  having  gardens  without  the  town  were 
ordered  to  fortify  the  same  with  walls. 

That  the  fortifying  of  Edinburgh  at  this  time  was  only  the  ex- 
tension of  its  walls,  I  think  is  manifest;  for  the  first  wall  having 
been  built  but  about  sixty  years  before,  it  could  want  no  repara- 
tion: and  by  what  is  above  observed,  of  the  Cowgate*s  lying 
without  the  town  wall,  it  was  very  necessary  to  secure  it  from  the 
ravages  of  an  enemy;  by  fortifying  it  with  a  rampart  on  the 
southern  side. 

This  extension  of  the  town  wall  or  new  fence,  which  began  at 
the  south-eastern  part  of  the  rock  whereon  the  Castle  stands, 
and  where  it  is  at  present  situated ;  whence  descending  the  hill  it 


AimALfi.  47 

»  intersected  by  the  West  Port,  and  ascending  part  of  the  High- 
rigs-hill,  turns  eastward,  and  running  along  the  northern  aide  of 
the  gardens  of  Heriot's  Hospital  crosaeth  the  northern  avenue 
leading  to  the  said  hospital,  and  paaseth  through  the  Gray  Friars 
Church-yard  to  the  Bristow  Port  and  continuing  its  course  east- 
'wards,  is  intersected  by  the  Potterrow  Port;  whence  going  on  the 
southern  side  of  the  College,  Infirmary,  and  High  School  of  Edin- 
burgh to  the  Pleasants,  winds  northward  to  the  Cowgate  Port, 
and  ascending  St.  Mary's  Wynd  Street  joins  the  old  town  wall  a 
little  besouth  the  Netherbow  Port. 

Although  the  city  wall  was  extended  as  above  specified,  yet  it 
proving  insufficient  for  the  security  of  the  town,  the  common 
council  in  the  year  1560  agreed  with  Murdoch  Walker,  a  mason, 
to  extend  the  said  fence  by  a  new  wall,  to  reach  from  Leith  Wynd 
to  the  eastern  end  of  tlie  Nordloch,  with  a  house  at  the  western 
end  for  the  keeper  of  the  new  port  to  reside  in;  for  which  they 
were  to  pay  the  said  Walker  the  sum  of  four  pounds  ten  shilling 
Scottish  money  per  rood,  from  the  foundation  to  the  battlement  of 
the  said  wall,  and  two  pounds  of  the  same  money  for  each  rood  of 
the  parapet  above  the  battlement. 

The  Town  Council,  having  purchased  ten  acres  of  land,  called 
the  High-rigs,  and  enclosed  the  same  within  the  town  wall : 
Pursuant  to  which  they  in  the  year  1620  agreed  with  John  Tali- 
pher,  a  mason,  to  erect  the  said  wall,  and  to  extend  the  old  city 
waU  from  the  West  Port  to  that  of  the  Society  or  Bristo  Port, 
that  surrounds  Heriot's  Hospital  and  gardens,  part  of  the  Oray- 
Friars  Church-yard,  and  the  Charity  Workhouse,  of  the  height 
of  five  ells  and  three  quarters  to  the  battlement,  and  the  parapet 
above  two  ells  in  height;  and  from  the  ground  to  the  battlement, 
to  be  of  the  thickness  of  five  feet,  and  the  parapet  of  two  feet; 
for  which  the  said  Talipher  was  paid  the  sum  of  sixteen  pounds 
Scottish  for  each  rood  of  the  said  work,  he  only  proWding  work- 
men, and  the  town  finding  all  materials,  with  labourers  to  dig 
the  foundation." 

II. 
ANCIENT  "  SET  "  OF  THE  CITY. 

It  was  a  new  phase  in  the  Iiistor}'  of  a  country,  to  see  the 
citizens  of  the  capital  of  Scotland,  after  being  engaged  in 
violent  disputes  among  themselves  about  their  municipal 
elections,  and  their  respective  rights  thereanent,  amicably 
referring  the  whole  points  at  issue  to  their  sovereign  prince 
the  King,  as  umpire.  The  whole  affair  has  rather  a  pleasant 
and  patriarchal  aspect,  and  James  VI.,  who  was  certainly  a 
curiosity  of  a  character,  and  along  with  his  self-conceit  and 
great  knowledge   of   king-a*aft   as   he   called    it,   by   no 


48  HI8T0BT  OF  EDINBURGH. 

means  without  some  redeeming  qualities^  must  have  been 
much  gratified  with  this  mark  of  confidence  from  the  citi- 
zens of  his  ^^  gude  tonn  ^*  of  Edinburgh.  His  decision  of 
the  points  at  issue  governed  the  city  elections  of  Magi- 
strates and  Town  Coancii  from  1583  to  1730,  a  period  of 
nearly  a  century  and  a  half,  when  it  was  supplemented  by 
Lord  Hay's  Decreet  Arbitral.* 

Such  a  document  is  worth  preservation  in  the  history  of 
the  metropolis  of  Scotland. 

THE  DEOBXST-AJUtTRAL,  PKOVOTT^TCED  BT  HIS   XAJE8TT  KnrO  JiJOES  Tl.  VS  THB 
SOBUBWIOir    BY    THS     MWRCHAMTS     AXD    CRAFISUSK    Or     XDOrBOBOH,    25tH 

UAT,  1583. 

At  Edinburgh,  the  nineteenth  day  of  June,  the  year  of  God, 
One  thousand  five  hundred  fourscore  three  years,  in  presence  of 
the  Lords  of  Council,  compeared  personally  jVIr.  John  Sharp, 
John  Prestoun,  Thomas  Craig,  and  John  Skeene,  procuratours 
specially  constitute  for  the  Provest,  Baillies,  Deacones,  Counsel, 
and  Community  of  the  Burgh  of  Edinburgh,  be  the  Act  of  Coun- 
sel underwritten,  made  in  presence  of  the  Provest,  Baillies,  Dea- 
cones.  Counsel,  and  Community  contein'd  thereintil,  of  the  date 
underwritten,  and  gave  in  the  said  Act  of  Council,  with  the  De- 
creet-arbitral  aftermentionat,  given  and  pronouncit  be  the  King's 
Majesty,  and  Judges  after  following,  subscrived  be  them,  and  the 
parties  after  rehearsed,  and  desired  the  same  to  be  insert  and  re- 
gistrate  in  the  Bulks  of  Counsel,  to  have  the  strength,  force,  and 
effect  of  their  Act  and  Decreet  in  time  to  come,  and  letters  and 
executorials  to  be  direct  upon  the  parties  specifiet  thairintil.  The 
quhilk  desire  the  said  Lords  thought  reasonable;  and  therefore 
hes  ordained  and  ordains  the  said  Act  and  Decreet-arbitral  to  be 
insert  and  registrat  in  the  said  Buiks,  to  have  the  strength,  force, 
and  effect  of  their  Act  and  Decreet,  and  hes  interponit  and  inter- 
pons  their  Decreet  and  authority  thereto,  and  decerns  and  ordaina 
letters  and  executorials  to  be  direct  upon  the  hail  parties  specifiet 
in  the  said  Decreet-arbitral,  for  fulfilling  thereof  m  all  poynts,  in 
manner  specifiet  thereintil :  Of  the  quhilk  the  tenor  follows. 

The  quhilk  day  Mr.  Michael  Chisholme,  Andrew  Sdater,  John 
Adamsone,  Baillies;  Mr.  John  Prestoun  Dean  of  Grild;  Mungo 
Russel  Thesaurer;  John  Johnstoun,  John  Harwood,  John  Ro- 
bertsene,  William  Maule,  William  Nesbet,  Alexander  Naper,  John 
Morisone,  Eobert  Eer,  Henry  Charterhouse,  Merchants;  James 
Fergusone,  Bower;  John  Baimsfather,  Tailyeour;  and  the 
Deakens  following,  viz.  Gilbert  Primerose,  Chinirgian;  John 
Wat,  Smith;  Edward  Galbraith,  Skinner;  Edward  Hart;  Oold- 
smith;  William  Hoppringle,  Tailyeour;  Thomas  Dickson,  Furrier; 

*  For  that  Decreet-arbitral^  see  Historical  Documents  connected  with 
Part  Second. 


ANKAUB.  49 

And  sicklike  James  Eer,  Flesher;  Wiltiam  Weir,  Cordiner;  Adam 
Newtoan,  Baxter;  William  Coutts,  Webster;  Andrew  William- 
son, Wright;  William  Somen,  Bonnetmaker,  remanent  Deakens 
of  Crafta,  for  themaelves,  and  tbe  hail  body  and  community  of  the 
Town,  als  well  Merchants  as  Craftsmen,  makes  and  constitutes 
Mrs.  John  Sharp,  Thomas  Craig,  John  Prestoun,  Assesaours,  and 
Mr.  John  Skeene  Procurator  Fiscal,  or  any  twa  of  them,  their 
procuratoura,  to  compear  before  the  Lords  of  Session  and  Coun- 
sel whatsomever  day  or  days  convenient,  and  there,  in  name  and 
behalf  of  the  Provost,  Baillies,  and  Counsel  for  the  Merchants,  and 
of  the  said  Deakens  for  the  Crafts  on  the  other  part,  to  consent 
to  the  r^pistrating  of  the  Decrees-arbitral  given  by  the  Eling's 
Majesty,  and  Arbitrators  specified  therein,  betwixt  the  Merchants 
and  Craftsmen,  in  the  Bulks  of  Counsel,  interponing  of  their  au- 
thority thereto,  with  execution  to  follow  thereupon,  in  manner 
specified  in  the  said  Decreet,  and  generally,  jrc.  promUtentei  de 
rata,  ^.  Extract  furth  of  the  Counsel  Bulk  of  Edinburgh,  be 
me  Mr.  Alexander  Guthrie,  Common  Clerk  of  the  samen;  Wit- 
ness thereto  my  sign  and  subscription  manual. 

Alex.  Outhbzb. 

HerefoUowt  the  Tenor  of  the  $aid  Deertet-crUtrtd. 

At  Hal3'midhouse,  the  twenty  twa  day  of  Apryl,  the  yeir  of  God 
One  thousand  five  hundred  fourscore  three  years,  we  Robert 
Fairlie  of  Braid,  Sir  Archibald  Naper  of  Edinbellie,  Knight,  and 
James  Johnstoun  of  Elphingstoun,  Judges  Arbitrators,  chosen 
for  the  part  of  Mr.  Michael  Chisholme,  Andrew  Sclater,  John 
Adamsone,  and  William  Fairlie,  Baillies  of  Edinburgh;  Mr.  John 
Prestoun,  Dean  of  Gild;  Mungo  Russel,  Thesaurer;  John  John- 
stoun, Bobert  Ker  younger,  Henry  Charterhouse,  John  Morisone, 
William  Maul,  John  Harwood,  John  Robertsone.  William  Inglis, 
Alexander  Naper,  William  Nesbet,  Merchants,  being  on  the 
Counsel  of  the  said  Burgh,  for  themselves,  and  in  name  and  be- 
half, and  as  Commissioners  for  the  hail  Merchants  indwellers  of 
the  said  burgh,  on  tlie  aue  part,  and  John  Cockburn  of  Orme- 
stoun,  Mr.  Robert  Pont  Provest  of  the  Trinity  CoUedge,  and  Mr. 
David  Lindsey  Minister  of  Leith,  Judges  Arbitrators,  chosen  for 
the  part  of  James  Fergusone,  Bower;  John  Baimsfather,  Tail- 
yeour,  twa  of  the  Craftsmen,  being  on  the  Counsel  of  the  said 
Bm^h;  Gilbert  Prymrose,  Deaken  of  the  Chirurgians;  John  Wat, 
Deaken  of  the  Hammermen;  William  Hoppringle,  Deaken  of  the 
Tailyeours;  Edward  Galbraith,  Deaken  of  the  Skinners;  Edward 
Hairt,  Deaken  of  the  Gold-smitlis;  Adam  Newtoun,  Deaken  of 
the  Baxters;  Thomas  Dicksone,  Deaken  of  the  Furriers;  Andrew 
Williamson,  Deaken  of  the  Wrights ;  William  Bickertoun,  Deaken 
of  the  Maissons;  James  Eer,  Deaken  of  the  Fleshers;  William 
Weir,  Deaken  of  jthe  Cordiners;  Thomas  Wright,  Deaken  of  the 

D 


50  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

Websters;  William  Cowtts,  Deaken  of  the  Wakers;  and  William 
Somer,  Deaken  of  the  Bonnet-makers  for  themselves,  and  in  name 
and  behalf,  and  as  Commissioners  for  the  hail  Craftsmen  in- 
dwellers  of  the  said  Brugh,  on  the  uther  part:  And  the  Bight 
Potent  and  Bluster  Prince  James,  be  the  Grace  of  God,  King  of 
Scots,  our  Soveraign  Lord,  odsman  and  oversman,  chosen  be  ad- 
vice and  consent  of  baich  the  saids  parties,  anent  the  removing  of 
all  questions,  differences,  and  controversies,  quhilks  are,  or  has 
been  betwixt  the  saids  Merchants,  and  Craftsmen,  concerning 
whatsomever  cause  or  occasion,  whereupon  debate  or  question 
did  arise  in  any  time  betwixt  them:  And  thereupon,  baith  the 
said  parties  being  bund,  obHst,  and  sworn,  to  stand,  abide,  and 
underly,  and  fulfil  the  Decreet-arbitral,  and  deliverance  of  us  the 
saids  Judges,  and  Oversman,  but  appellation,  reclamation,  or  con- 
tradiction, as  at  mair  length  is  contained  in  an  submission  made 
thereupon,  baith  the  saids  parties  clames  and  griefs  given  in  be 
them,  with  the  answers  made  thereto,  and  tlieir  rights,  reasons, 
and  allegations  being  heard,  seen,  and  considered  be  us,  and  we 
therewith  being  ryply  advisit,  after  many  and  sundry  conventions 
and  meetings,  with  lang  travels  tane  hereanent,  hes  all  in  ane 
voice  accordit,  and  agreed  upon  the  heads  and  articles  following : 

First,  To  take  away  all  differences  quhilk  has  been  heretofore 
concerning  the  persons  who  had  the  government  of  the  Town, 
their  number,  power,  or  authority,  and  manner  of  their  election ; 
it  is  finally  concordit,  decernit,  and  concludit  thereupon  as  follows : 

_  The  Magistrats  and  Officemen,  sick  as  Provest, 

BaiUies,  Dean  of  Gild,  and  Thesaurer,  to  be  in  all 
tymes  coming  of  the  estait  and  calling  of  Merchants,  conform  to  the 
acts  of  Parliament;  and  gif  ony  Crattsman  excerceand  merchan- 
dize, sail  for  his  guid  qualities  be  promovit  theirto,  in  that  caise 
he  sail  leive  his  craft,  and  not  occupy  the  same  be  himself  nor 
his  servants  during  the  time  of  his  office,  and  sail  not  return 
theirto  at  any  tyme  theirafter  quhill  he  obtain  special  license  of 
the  Provest,  BailUes,  and  Counsel  to  that  effect. 

^  .  The  Counsel  to  consist  of  ten  Merchants,  to  wit, 

^^^^  the  auld  Provest,  four  auld  Baillies,  Dean  of  Gild, 
and  Thesaurer  of  the  nixt  year  preceiding,  and  three  uther  Mer- 
chants to  be  chosen  to  them,  and  als  to  consist  of  eight  Craftsmen 
thereof,  sex  Deakens,  and  twa  other  Craftsmen,  makand  in  the 
hail  the  said  Counsel  eighteen  persons,  and  this  by  the  Officemen 
of  that  year,  to  wit,  the  Provest,  Baillies,  Dean  of  Gild,  and 
Thesaurer. 

Electxoh  And  as  to  the  manner  of  the  Election,  It  is  6rst 
generally  accordit  and  concludit,  that  na  manner  of 
person  be  chosen  Provest,  Baillies,  Dean  of  Gild,  or  Thesaurer, 
:5uppose  they  be  Burgesses  of  the  Burgh,  and  able  therefore,  with- 
out they  have  been  an  year  or  twa  upon  the  Counsel  off  before. 
And  anent  the  Counsel,  the  auld  maner  of  giving  in  of  tickets  be 


ANMAL&  51 

the  Deakensy  out  of  the  quhDk  the  twa  Craftsmen  were  yearly 
chosen,  to  be  abrogat,  diachargit,  cease,  and  ezpyre  in  all  tyoiet 
coming,  swa  that  the  saids  twa  Craftsmen  shall  be  chosen  yearly, 
without  ony  ingiving  of  tickets,  indifferently  of  the  beet  and 
worthiest  of  the  Crafts,  be  the  saids  Provest,  Baillies,  and  Counsel 
allanerly ;  and  nane  to  be  of  the  Counsel  above  twa  year  together, 
except  they  be  Officemen,  or  be  vertue  of  their  offices  be  on  the 
Counsel.  Sicklike,  anent  the  lytts  of  the  Baillies,  they  sail  not  be 
dividet  nor  casten  in  four  ranks,  three  to  ever}*  rank,  as  they  were 
wont  to  be,  bot  to  be  chosen  indifferently,  ane  out  of  the  twelff 
lytta,  ane  uther  out  of  eleven  l3rtts,  the  third  out  of  ten,  and  the 
fourt  out  of  nyne  lytts.  Anent  the  Deakens,  that  nane  be  eleetit 
Deaken,  except  he  tliat  has  been  an  maister  of  his  Craft  twa  year 
at  the  least;  and  that  nane  of  them  be  continued  in  their  office  of 
Deakenship  above  twa  year  togidder.  Last,  in  general,  that  nane 
have  vote  in  lytting,  voitbg,  or  electing  of  the  Provest,  Baillies, 
Counsel,  and  Deakens,  Dean  of  Gild,  or  Thesaurer,  but  the  per- 
sons hereafter  following  allenarly,  in  manner  after  specifit. 

And  to  jirooeid  in  the  said  Election,  It  is  found 

£LBcno5  ns  ^^j^  ^  begin  at  the  choosins:  of  the  Deakens  of 
DEAC0K8.  Crafts,  quhilks  are  fourteen  in  number,  to  wit, 
Chirurgyanis,  Goldsmyths,  Skinners,  Furriers, 
Hammer-men,  Wright^  Masons,  Tailyeours,  Baxters,  Fleshers, 
Cordiners,  Webster^,  Waidkers,  Bonnet-makers:  Swa  the  Dea- 
kens now  present  shall  stand  and  continue  quhil  the  third  Coun- 
sel Day  before  the  auld  time  of  election  of  the  new  Counsel, 
quhilk  was  on  the  Wednesday  next  proceeding  the  Feast  of 
Michaelmass;  upon  the  quliilk  third  Counsel  Day,  the  Provest, 
Baillies,  and  Counsel  now  staudand,  extending  to  nineteen  persons, 
and  fra  thence  furth  vearlv,  and  ilk  vear,  the  Provest,  Baillies  and 
Counsel,  constitute  of  the  said  twenty-five  persons,  sail  call  in 
before  them  the  saids  Deakeus  of  Crafts,  every  ane  severally,  and 
require  their  opinion  and  judgment  of  the  best  and  worthiest  of 
their  Crafts.  Thereafter,  the  saids  Provest,  Baillies,  and  Coun- 
sel, shall  nominat  and  Int  three  persons  of  the  maist  discreet, 
godly,  and  qualified  pei^sons  of  ever}'  ane  of  the  saids  Fourteen 
Crafts,  maist  expert  hand-labourers  of  their  awen  Craft,  Burgesses 
and  Freemen  of  the  Brugh,  whereof  the  auld  Deaken  shall  be  ane, 
and  canse  deliver  their  names  to  the  Deakens,  ever}'  ane  acoordiug 
to  their  Craft 'f  quhilk  Deakens,  on  the  mom  thereafter,  sail  as- 
semble and  convein  their  Crafts,  and  every  Craft  be  themselves, 
furth  of  thir  names  shall  elect  ane  person,  wha  sail  be  their  Deaken 
for  that  year;  and  upon  the  next  Counsel  Day  after  the  said 
Election,  the  auld  Deakens,  with  some  of  the  masters  of  their 
Crafts,  sail  present  the  new  Deaken  to  the  Counsel,  quha  sail  au- 
thorize them  in  their  offices. 

Kew   Ck>uK6EL        Next,  To  proceed  to  the  Election  of  the  New 
OF  Deak£2c».      Counsel.     The  said  day  of  "presenting  of  new 


52  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

Deakensy  the  Provest,  Baillies,  and  Counael,  now  standand  oi 
nineteen  persons,  and  fra  then  farth,  the  same  daj  yearly, 
Provest,  Baillies,  and  Counsel  of  twenty-five  persons  sail  choose 
fiirth  of  the  saids  Fourteen  Deakens,  sex  persons  to  be  adjoyned 
with  the  New  Counsel  for  the  year  to  come,  and  to  have 
special  vote  in  lytting  and  choosing  of  the  Provest,  Baillies,  and 
Counsel;  and  the  same  day,  the  auld  sex  Deakens,  quhilk  was 
upon  the  Counsel  the  year  proceeding,  to  be  removed,  and  have 
na  farther  vote  for  that  year,  except  some  of  them  be  of  the  num- 
ber of  the  new  elected  Doakens. 

Thereafter,  upon  the  Wednesday  next,  pre- 
or' MbwS!^  ceeding  Michaelmaas  Uk  year,  the  Provest,  Baillies, 
A!n>  Caxm.       I^ean  of  Olid,  Thesaurer,  and  ten  Merchants  of 

the  Counsel,  and  the  said  sex  Deakens,  and  twa 
Craftsmen,  and  in  the  hail  twenty-five  persons,  and  twenty-sex 
votes,  be  reason  of  the  Provest's  twa  votes,  ordinarily  standand 
at  all  tymes,  sail  conveen  and  choose  the  New  Counsel,  to  the 
number  of  eighteen  persons,  to  wit,  the  auld  Provest,  Baillies, 
Deau  of  Gild,  and  Thesaurer  of  that  year,  and  the  said  sex  Dea- 
^keus  to  make  thretteen  persons  thereof,  and  to  them  to  be  chosen 
three  Merchants,  and  twa  Craftsmen,  and  thir  persons  to  be  caJlit. 
the  New  Counsel :  And  gif  ony  person  of  the  Merchants  chosen 
upon  the  New  Counsel,  happens  to  be  put  on  the  lytt  of  an  uther 
otfice,  and  promovit  thereto,  ane  other  saU  be  chosen  in  his  room 
be  the  saids  Provest,  Baillies,  and  Counsel. 

Thridly,  To  proceid  to  the  choosing  of  the 
omalM  ^y*^  ^  *^®  Magistrats  and  Office-men,  sic  as 
Prevent,  Baillies,  Dean  of  Gild,  and  Thesaurer: 
Upon  the  Friday  next  thereafter,  there  sail  conveen  the  said  New 
Counsel  of  eighteen  persons,  and  the  auld  Counsel,  constitute  of 
twelff  persons,  viz.  ten  Merchants  and  twa  Craftsmen,  the  said 
new  and  auld  Counsel,  makand  twenty  Merchants  and  ten  Crafts- 
men, and  in  the  hail  thretty  persons,  by  the  Provest's  odd  vote; 
quhilks  persons  solomnatly  protesting  before  Goo,  that  they  shall 
choose  the  persons  whom  they  find  maist  meet,  without  favour, 
hatred,  or  ony  kind  of  collusion;  then  sail  begin  and  choose  the 
lytts  to  the  said  Magistrats  and  Office-men,  to  every  ane  of  them 
three  lytts;  that  is  to  say,  to  the  Provest,  twa  lytts  with  himself; 
to  the  four  Baillies,  every  ane  of  them  three  lytts,  the  auld  Baillies 
not  beand  ane,  except  they  be  new  chosen  thereto ;  to  the  Dean 
of  Gild,  twa  lytts  with  himself;  and  to  the  Thesaurer,  twa  lytts 
with  himself;  quhilks  hiil  lytts  sail  be  of  the  order  and  calling  of 
Merchants,  as  said  is. 

^  Fourthlv,  to  proceed   to  the  electing  and 

^^?Lm  choosing  of  the  said   Magistrats  and   Office- 

men,  upon  the  Tuesday  nixt  after  j^Iichaelmass 
yearly,  there  sail  conveen  the  saids  thretty  persons  of  new  and 
auld  Counsel,  and  with  them  the  rest  of  the  Deakens  of  Crafts, 


AKKALB.  53 


quhilkfl  are  not  of  the  Counsel,  extending  to  eight  persons;  the  . 
hail  persons  swa  oonveenand,  extending  to  thretty-eight  persons 
hy  the  said  odde  vote,  thereof  twenty  Morohanta,  and  eighteen 
Trades;  quhilks  persons  sidl  begin  at  the  lytts  of  the  Provest,  and 
every  ane  in  their  awen  rank  give  their  votes  to  sic  as  they  find 
maist  meet  for  the  well  of  the  Town,  according  to  their  conscience 
and  knawledge,  but  feid  or  &vottr;  and  on  whom  the  greatest 
number  of  votes  sail  fall,  that  he  be  sworn,  receivit,  uid  ad^ 
mitdt  Provest  for  that  year;  and  swa  to  proceed  thorow  the  lytu 
of  the  Bailiies,  Dean  of  Qild,  and  Thesaurer,  quliill  the  aaid  Elec- 
tion be  compleatly  endit  The  saids  Provest,  Bailiies,  Dean  of 
Gild,  Thesaurer,  and  Counsel,  eleotit  as  said  is,  makand  in  the 
hail  twenty-five  persons;  they  only,  and  na  uthers,  sail  have  the 
fall  government  and  administration  of  the  hail  Common-weill  of 
this  Burgh,  and  in  all  things,  as  the  Provest,  Bailiies,  and  Counsel 
tho'eof,  or  of  any  uther  burgh  had  of  before,  or  may  have  here* 
after,  be  the  laws  or  consuetude  of  this  realm,  infdTtments  and 
priviledges  grantit  to  this  Town  be  our  Sovereign  Lords  maist 
Noble  Progenitors;  exceptand  always  thir  causes  following,  in  the 
quhilks  the  hail  fourteen  Deakens  of  Crafts  sail  be  callit  and  ad- 
)oyned  with  them  to  give  their  special  vote  and  consultation 
thereinto,  to  wit,  In  election  of  the  Provest,  Bailiies,  Dean  of 
Oild,  and  Thesaurer,  as  said  is;  In  setting  of  Feus,  or  any  manner 
of  Tacks,  attour  the  yearly  rowpiug  upon  Martinmass-even ;  In 
giving  of  benefices  &nd  uther  omces  within  Burgh ;  In  granting 
of  extents,  contributions,  emprimits,  and  sicklike;  biggiog  of  com- 
mon  warks;  and  in  disponing  of  common  good  above  the  sura  of 
twenty  pound  togidder. 

Providing  nevertheless,  that  the  Deakens,  not 

w^iviirooF    ^f  ^Yie  Counsel,  nor  ony  of  them,  beand  per- 

AXD   Cocivbbl!    ^n^iy   warned   to   that    effect,  and  absenting 

themselves,  swa  oft  the  last  Deacone,  or  any  uther 
that  was  in  13'tt  with  iiim  that  yeir,  sail  supplie  their  room ;  and 
they  beand  personally  warned,  and  absent,  the  rest  compearand 
sail  have  power  to  proceed:  gif  ony  of  the  Provest,  Bidllies,  and 
Counsel  be  absent,  the  rest  wha  are  present  sail  choose  an  uther 
in  their  room.  And  to  avoid  all  suspicioun  that  has  risen  in  times 
past,  through  the  particular  assemblies,  conventiouns,  and  convo- 
cations, contrair  the  acts  of  Parliament,  and  to  the  trouble  of  the 
quyet  state  of  this  Brugh, 

CoiTTEifTiouirfi.        ^^  "  agreit  and  condudit,  that  nather  the 

Merchants  amang  themselves,  nather  the  Crafts 
and  their  Deakens,  or  visitors,  sail  have  or  make  ony  particular 
or  general  conventions,  as  Deakens  with  Deakens,  Deakens  with 
their  Crafts,  or  Crafts  amang  themselves,  far  less  to  make  privat 
laws,  or  statutes,  poind  and  distrenzie  at  their  awen  hands  for 
transgressions,  by  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Provest,  Bailiies, 
and  CounseL 


54  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

Exceptand  always,  that  the  Dean  of  Gild 

MAY  cwira»  m    "*y  assemble  his  Brether  and  Counsel,  in  their 

CousrasL.  ^^^^  Courts,  conform  to  the  ancient  laws  of  the 

Gildrie,  and  priviledges  theirof ;  and  that  any 
ane  Craft  may  con  vein  together  amang  themselves,  for  the  choos- 
ing of  their  Deaken,  at  the  tyme  appointit  theirto,  and  in  manner 
before  exprest;  making  of  Masters,  and  trying  of  their  handle- 
wark,  allanerly :  And  gif  ony  Brether,  or  Df^kens  of  Crafts  sail 
find  out,  or  devyse  any  good  heids  that  may  tend  to  the  weill  of 
their  Craft,  they  sail  propone  the  same  to  the  Magistrats,  wha  sail 
set  forward  an  act  or  statute  thairupon,  and  interpone  their  au- 
thority thereto,  as  it  bees  found  reasonable. 

CoicMiBaioMxsa  Item,  As  tuitching  the  Commissioners  in  Par- 
liament, General  Counsel,  and  Commissioners  in 
Conventioun  of  Burrows,  it  is  thought  guid  be  the  Commonaris, 
that  in  all  tymes  coming  the  ane  of  the  saids  Commissioners  for 
the  Brugh  of  Edinburgh  sail  be  chosen  be  the  said  Provest  and 
Baillies,  furth  of  the  number  and  calling  of  Craftsmen,  and  that 
person  to  be  an  Burgess  and  Gild-brother  of  the  Brugh,  of  the 
best,  expert,  wise,  and  honest  reputatioun. 

.  Item,  It  is  agreed,  that  the  Auditors  of  all  the 

Town's  comptis  sail  hereafter  be  chosen  of  equal 
number  of  Merchants  and  Craftsmen,  be  the  Provest,  Baillies,  and 
Counsel. 

^  Item,   Toward  'the    Ung    controversies  for    the 

Gildrie,  it  is  finally,  with  common  consent,  appoyntit, 
agreit  and  condudit,  that  als  weill  Craftsmen  as  Merchants,  sail 
be  received  and  admitted  Gild-brether,  and  the  ane  not  to  be 
refusit  nor  secludit  therefra  mair  nor  the  uther,  they  being  Bur- 
gesses of  the  Brugh,  als  meit  and  qualified  thairfore;  and  that 
Gild«brether  to  have  liberty  to  use  merchandise.  Their  admission 
and  tryal  of  their  qualificatioun  to  be  in  the  power  and  hands  of 
the  Provest,  Baillies,  Thesaurer,  and  Counsel,  with  the  Dean  of 
Gild,  and  his  Counsel,  quhilk  sail  consist  in  equal  number  of  Mer- 
chants and  Craftsmen,  Gild-brether,  not  exceiding  the  number 
of  sex  persons,  by  the  Dean  of  Gild  himself;  and  that  uo  person, 
of  whatever  faculty  soever  he  be,  sail  bruik  the  benefit  of  an  Gild- 
brother,  without  he  be  receivic  and  admittit  thereto,  as  said  is. 

Item,  That  na  manner  of  person  be  sufferit  to  use 

Botkoesses,    merchandise,  or  occupy  the  handiewark  of  ane  free 
Craft  within  this  Brugh,  or  yet  to  exerce  the  liberty 
and  priviledge  of  the  said  Brugh,  without  he  be  Burgess  and 
Freeman  of  the  same. 

Item,  Because  the  Merchants  and  Craftsmen  of  this 

E^iEATA.  Brugh  are  now  to  be  incorporat  in  an  Society,  and  to 
make  an  hail  Town  and  Common-weill,  it  is  thought  expedient, 
and  concludit,  to  abrogat  the  former  cuscome  of  dividing  and  set- 
ting of  extents,  wherein  the  Merchants  payit  four  parts,  and  the 


ANNALS.  55 

Crafts  the  fifth  part :  And  thdrfore  it  is  agried,  that  as  they  watoh 
and  waird  together,  swa  in  all  extents,  emprimits,  oontributtouns, 
and  the  like  substcHes  to  be  imposit  upon  the  Burgh»  Merchants 
and  Craftsmen  to  bear  the  burden  and  charge  thdrof  indifferently 
over-head,  accordingly  to  their  ability  and  substance,  throw  the 
hail  quarters  of  the  Town,  without  divisioun  of  the  rolls  in  Mer«- 
chants  and  Craftsmen  in  any  time  coming.  The  eztoitours  sail 
be  of  equal  number  of  Merchants  and  Craftsmen^  eight  persons  of 
the  ane  calling,  and  eight  persons  of  the  uther,  to  be  electit,  sworn, 
and  receivit  be  the  Provest,  Baillies,  and  Counsel,  out  of  the 
maist  discreit  and  skilful  of  all  tlie  Town,  void  of  all  partial  affec- 
tioun  and  hatred:  And  that  na  manner  of  person  usand  the  trade 
of  Merchant  or  Craftsmen,  and  oocupyand  the  friedome  of  the 
Brugh,  and  able  to  pay  any  extent,  not  beirand  the  office  of  Pro- 
vest  or  Baillies  in  the  mean  time,  sail  be  any  wayis  exeuiit  fra  the 
real  and  actual  payment  thereof. 
^  Item,  As  the  hail  body  of  the  Town,  consistand 

xxBcnouK.  ^^  Merchants  and  Craftsmen,  does  bear  an  com- 
mon burden  of  watching,  wairding,  extenting,  and  of  the  .like 
portable  charges,  having  an  common-good  proper  to  nane,  swa 
neidful  it  is  for  making  an  equal  unity,  and  charitable  concord, 
that  there  be  in  the  hail  Town  but  an  collection,  and  an  purse,  not 
peculiar  to  any,  but  common  to  all^  of  the  hail  dewties  and  casu- 
alities,  callit  the  entres-silver  of  prenteisses,  upsets,  owkly-pennies, 
un-laws,  and  sicklike,  to  be  collectit  in  all  times  coming,  and  re- 
ceived baith  of  Merchants  and  Craftsmen,  and  put  in  an  common 
purse ;  and  to  that  effect  the  Merchants  to  take  and  have  prentices, 
as  well  as  Craftsmen,  and  to  be  astrictit  and  obleist  tbeirto,  and 
na  prentice  always  to  be  received  of  ather  of  them  for  shorter 
time  nor  the  space  of  fy\'e  yeirs  compleit.  And  for  the  better 
knowledge  to  lie  had  heirof,  and  for  observing  an  good  ordour  in 
a^llectioun  of  the  same,  that  there  be  an  common  book  made,  and 
keipit  be  the  common  Clerk  of  this  Brugh  present,  and  to  come, 
wherein  the  names  of  all  prentices  to  Merchants  and  Craftsmen, 
the  name  of  their  master,  day  of  their  entries,  and  space  of  their 
prenticeship,  sail  be  insert  and  buikit;  for  the  quhUk  the  Clerk 
sail  have  at  their  bulking  of  ilk  person  sex  pennies,  and  for  the 
outdraught  twelf  pennies,  quhilk  bulk  sail  be  to  the  prentice  an 
sufficient  probatioun  of  his  entries,  and  an  charge  to  the  Collectors, 
of  the  said  dewties.  If  any  man  be  an  prentice  heirafter,  and  not 
put  in  the  said  bulk,  his  prenteiship  sail  be  to  him  of  na  effect. 
Alswa,  be  reason  every  industry  is  not  of  like  valour  and  sub- 
stance, it  is  declarit,  that  ilk  rank  or  degree  of  prenteisses  sail 
pay,  to  wit,  the  Merchant  prentice,  and  sic  kind  of  people  as  were 
wont  to  extent  with  them,  and  are  not  under  tlie  said  fourteen 
Crafts,  to  pay  at  his  entres  the  day  of  his  bulking  to  the  said  col- 
lectioun  threttie  shilling,  and  at  his  up-set,  or  end  of  his  pren- 
teiship, fyye  pound.    The  prenteis  to  an  Skynner,  Chirurgian,  Gold- 


56  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

smith,  Flesher,  Cordiner,  ToOyeour,  Baxter,  and  Hammer-men, 
at  their  entry  and  baiking,  to  die  said  coUeotioun  twenty  shilling* 
and  for  their  upeet  fyve  pund.  The  prentioe  to  an  Masoun  and 
Wri^t  at  his  encrie  thretteen  shilling  four  pennies,  and  his  up- 
set three  pund  sex  shilling  eight  pennies.  The  prentice  to  an 
Wefaeter,  Waker,  Bonnet-maker,  Furriour,  at  his  entry  ten  shilling, 
and  for  hia  up-set  fiftie  shilling:  and  their  dewties  to  be  tane  by 
their  owkly-pennies,  and  dewties  of  their  Burgeships:  And  to 
oanse  all  persons  to  be  mair  willing  to  enter  themselves  in  pren- 
ieiahxp  with  the  Burgesses  and  Friedman  of  the  Burgh,  this  privi* 
ledge  is  grantit  to  the  saids  prenteises,  that  they  sail  pay  na  mair 
for  their  Borgeship  to  the  Dean  of  Gild,  but  fyve  punds  by  the 
dewties  fotrsaids:  And  in  augmentatioun  of  the  said  coUectioun, 
when  any  persons  sal]  happen  to  be  made  Burgesses  of  this  Burgh, 
wha  was  na  prenteis  to  an  Merchant,  or  Craftsman,  Frie  Bwrgess 
of  the  said  Brugh,  or  has  not  coropleit  his  prenteiship,  sail  pay  to 
the  said  coUectioun,  at  his  admissioun,  the  double  of  the  hail 
prenteis  or  entries-silver,  up-set  and  buiking,  by  the  dewty  payit 
to  the  Dean  of  Gild  for  his  Burgeship,  or  Gildrie,  quhilk  is  twenty 
puuds  for  his  Burgeship,  and  fourty  pund  for  his  Gildrie;  the 
priviledge  alwayes  of  the  bairns  of  Burgesses  and  Gild-brether  not 
being  prejudged  heirby,  quha  sail  pay  the  auld  accustomed  dewty 
to  the  Dean  of  Gild  ailenarly.  Tbir  dewties  and  collectiouns,  or 
casualitiea  of  entres-stlver,  upsets,  owkly-pennies,  unlaws,  and 
sicklike,  to  be  received  in  all  times  comming,  of  ail  Merchants  and 
Craftsmen  indifferently,  put  in  the  said  common-purse,  and  im- 
ployit  be  the  advyse  and  command  of  the  Provest,  Baillies,  and 
Counsel,  for  support  and  relief  of  the  failyiet  and  decayet  Bur- 
gesses, Merchants,  and  Craftsmen,  their  wyfes,  bairns  and  auld 
servants,  and  uther  poor  indwellers  of  the  Town.  The  Provest, 
Baillies,  Counsel,  and  hail  Deakens,  every  yeir  after  electiouo  of 
the  Magistrates,  sail  dioose  the  collectors  of  the  said  dewties  and 
casualities,  of  equal  number  of  Merchants  and  Craftsmen,  and  to 
devyse  and  set  down  sic  good  ordovrr  as  they  sail  find  meet  and 
expedient  for  the  perfyte  and  reddie  inbringing  thereof.  And 
last,  the  said  Collectors  sail  make  yeirly  compcs  of  their  intro- 
missioun  theirwith,  at  the  tyme  of  making  of  the  Town's  compts; 
and  sail  find  sufficient  cautioun  at  their  admissioun,  for  compt, 
reckoning,  and  payment.  lUmy  it  is  ordained,  that  baith  the  saida 
parties,  Merchants  and  Craftsmen,  now  present,  and  their  suc- 
cessors, sail  invioUbly  observe,  keip,  and  fulfill  this  present  ap- 
pointment and  Decreit-arbitral,  and  every  heid,  clause,  and  article 
conteinit  therein.  Likeas,  his  Majesty  and  the  saids  Judges,  wills 
and  ordains  them,  with  willing  hearts  to  put  in  oblivion  9IL  bypast 
enormities,  imbraoe  and  entertain  love  and  amity,  and  as  they  are 
of  ane  City,  swa  to  be  of  ane  mind ;  then  sail  they  be  acceptit  of 
God,  stop  the  mouths  of  them  quhilk  tuik  occasion  be  their  divi- 
sion to  slander  the  truth;  then  sail  they  be  mair  able  to  do  our 


▲KNAL&  57 

Sovermign  Lord  aooeptable  serrioe,  and  have  an  standing  an 
flouziabing  Common-weal:  And  finally ,  his  Majesty  and  tbe  saids 
Judges  will  esteem  their  lang  travels  fhiitfully  bestowit. 
n,  Attoor,  his  Majesty  and  the  saids  Judges,  or- 

or  THx^^ln!  ^'^^  ^®  practice  and  execution  of  this  present 
appointmoit  and  Decreet  to  be  and  begin  after 
the  day  and  date  hereof,  and  to  continue  and  be  observit  and 
keepit  as  ane  perpetual  law  in  tyme  coming;  and  whasoever  oon- 
travons  the  samen,  sail  be  repute  and  balden  ane  troubkr  of  the 
quiet  estate  of  the  Common-weal,  incurre  the  note  of  infamy,  and 
forfault  and  tyne  their  freedome  for  ever;  and  otherwise  to  be 
persewit  and  puniahit  as  seditious  persons,  conform  to  the  laws  of 
the  realm,  with  all  rigor  and  extremity:  And  ordains  thir  pre- 
sents to  be  ratifiet  and  approvet  in  his  Highness  next  Parliament; 
and,  in  the  mean  tyme,  the  same  to  be  actit  and  regirtrat  in  the 
Buiks  of  Counsel  and  Session,  and  to  have  the  strength  of  acts 
and  decreets  of  tbe  Lords  thereof,  and  that  their  authority  be 
interponit  thereto,  and  letters  and  executorials  to  pass  thereupon, 
in  form  as  efieirs.  And  for  acting  and  registrating  of  the  samen, 
makes  and  constitutes,  Mrs  Jolm  Sharp,  John  Prestoun,  Thomas 
Craig,  and  John  Skeene,  our  procuratcvs,  conjunctly  and  severally 
•n  vberiare  format  pramitten,  de  raio.  In  witness  whereof,  the 
laids  Judges  and  Oversman,  togidder  with  the  saids  Commission- 
ers, in  token  of  their  consents  and  acceptation  of  the  premisses, 
has  subscrivit  thir  presents  with  their  hands,  as  follows,  day,  year 
and  place  foresaid. 

JAMES  R. 

Eobert  Fairlie  of  Braid. 

Archibald  Naper  of  Edinbellie,  Knight. 

James  Johnstoun  of  Elphingstoun. 

John  Cockbum. 

David  Lindsey. 

Robert  Pont. 

Alexander  Clerk,  Provost 

Mr  Michael  Cbisholme,  Baillie. 

Andrew  Sdater,  Baillie. 

John  Adamsone,  Baillie. 

Mr  John  Prestoun,  Dean  of  Gild. 

Mungo  Russel,  Thesaurer. 

Robert  Ker,  younger. 

Henry  Charters. 

John  Moriaon. 

John  Harwood. 

John  Robertson. 

William  Nisbet. 

Alexander  Naper. 

James  Fergussone. 

William  Mauld. 


58  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

Joha  Johnstoun. 

Edward  Cbdbraith. 

Gilbert  Primrose. 

Joha  Wat. 

James  Ker,  (with  my  hand.) 

William  Pringie. 

Edward  Hairt. 

John  Baims&ther,  Tailyour. 

Thomas  Dicicson. 

Andrew  Williamsone. 

Thomas  Wright. 

William  Bickerton. 

William  Somer. 

Adam  Newtoun. 

William  Weir. 

William  Cowts. 
with  our  hands  at  the  pen  led  be  the  notars  underwritten,  at  our 
command,  because  we  cannot  write  ourselves. 

Ita  etif  Mr  Alexander  Guthrie,  noiaritu  pvbiieus,  ao  testis  in 
prsmissisy  de  mancUUis  dietarttm  psrsonarum  scrtbers  nssdetUium^ 
ut  (userueruiU:  TesUxntibus  his  meis  signo  ae  subscripHone  tnanua- 
libus.  Acta  14.  &  Maji  25.  1583. 

Ita  est,  Mr  David  Guthrie,  conotarius  in  premissis  de  mandaiis 
dictamm  psrsonarum  scribere  nesdsntvam:  Teste  manu  propria. 

Extractum  deUbro  Actorumy  per  me  Alexandrum  Hay,  de  Eister 
Kennet,  Clericwm  Rotulorum  Registri  ae  ConeUiiy  8.  D.  N.  Regis, 
sub  meis  signo  et  subscriptions  matiualibus, 

Alezandsb  Hat. 

in. 

THE  GOLDEN  CHARTER. 

The  Golden  Charter  referred  to  at  page  38,  so  foil  of  im- 
portant privileges  to  the  city,  was  granted  by  James  VI. 
m  1603.  The  original  was  in  Latin,  the  following  is  the 
translation  as  given  by  Maitland: 

"  James,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of  Great  Britain,  France, 
and  Ireland,  Defender  of  the  Faith,  to  all  our  faithful  subjects,  both 
clergy  and  laity,  greeting :  Know  ye,  that  we,  after  our  just  and 
perfect  age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  all  our  revocations  botli 
general  and  particular,  calling  to  mind  the  antiquity  of  Edin- 
burgh, and  bow  the  same  was  antiently  raised  to  the  dignity  of  a 
royal  borough,  by  our  illustrious  progenitors  of  happy  memory, 
and  by  the  care,  industry,  and  indefatigable  labours  of  its  Mer- 
chants, in  navigation  and  foreign  commerce,  the  revenues  of  our 
crown  are  increased,  the  country  enriched,  and  the  people  greatly 


AKNAL&  59 

improved  in  oourtesr  and  good  manneri ;  and  the  said  borough, 
in  the  oommon  charges,  taxes,  and  imposts  of  the  nation,  bear  a 
great  share  of  those  laid  on  the  boroughs;  and  as  it  has  been  for 
many  ages,  and  now  is  the  chief  town  of  the  kingdom,  and  is  the 
fittest  and  most  commodious  for  holding  public  conventions,  to 
which  our  nobilitj  and  counsellors  resort;  and  wherein  is  held  the 
principal  courts  of  the  nation,  namely,  the  high  court  of  parlia* 
ment,  our  college  of  justice,  which  has  jurisdiction  in  all  civil 
causes;  and  the  court  of  justiciary,  which  decides  in  matters 
criminal.  We  likewise  calling  to  mind  the  many  great  and  signal 
services  done  to  us  and  our  illustrious  predecessors  by  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  said  town  both  in  peace  and  war,  not  only  in  defence 
of  the  kingdom  against  foreign  enemies,  but  with  their  bodies  and 
fortunes,  defended  our  person  and  royal  authority,  against  the 
wicked  attempts  of  rebellious  subjects,  who,  in  the  times  of  dvil 
seditions,  insurrections,  and  intestine  wars,  usurped  on  the  crown, 
as  well  during  the  minority  of  princes,  as  in  their  majority,  at  the 
expense  of  their  blood  and  loss  of  their  lives.  And  their  town 
being  often  spoiled  and  burned  on  those  occasions,  suffered  more 
loss  and  damage  than  all  the  other  boroughs  of  the  kingdom 
could  have  done. 

We  likewise  considering,  that  to  their  perpetual  honour  and 
praise,  part  of  their  good  services  are  recommended  to  posterity 
in  divers  of  their  enfeoftments;  and  since  6ur  coronation,  we  have 
had,  and  daily  have  no  small  proofs  of  their  gooilwill,  love,  and 
affection;  and  understanding,  that  the  said  town  of  late  has 
erected  many  great  and  useful  works,  namely,  the  enlarging  and 
repairing  the  harbour  and  pier  of  Leith, -erecting  a  market-place, 
building  a  commodious  enclosure  secured  with  a  wooden  fence, 
for  the  reception,  conser\'ation,  and  sale  of  the  several  sorts  of 
timber  that  shall  arrive  at  the  said  port  of  Leith,  repairing  their 
causeways,  erecting  more  churches,  and  planting  them  with  a 
sufficient  number  of  ministers,  and  providing  houses  for  their  resi- 
dences; founding  and  erecting  a  college  for  the  study  of  letters, 
and  hospitals  for  the  reception  of  the  poor,  with  other  notable 
works,  to  the  glory  of  God,  increase  of  religion  and  piety,  and 
welfare-  of  the  nation;  whereby,  and  the  advancement  of  large 
sums  of  money  to  us  in  our  greatest  affairs;  and  for  carrying  on 
the  said  works,  the  town's  revenues  have  not  only  been  expended, 
but  divers  of  the  citizens  have  advanced  considerable  sums  of  their 
own  toward  their  completion. 

Now,  we  being  noway  inferior  to  our  progenitors  in  munifi- 
cence, gratitude,  and  liberality  to  their  subjects,  who,  by  their 
fidelity,  virtue  and  courage,  did  deserve  the  same;  we  therefore, 
and  in  consideration  of  the  good  services  and  affection  of  the  in- 
habitants of  Edinburgh  toward  us,  have  resolved  to  leave  in  per- 
petual remembrance  thereof,  and  for  the  maintenance  of  religion, 
virtue  and  policy  within   the  said  town,  by  not  only  ratifying 


60  HISTOET  OF  EDINBURGH. 

and  oonfirming  their  ancient  rights,  lands,  liberties,  and  immiF- 
nities,  but  to  enlarge  and  endow  the  same  with  more  privileges 
and  lands,  than  any  other  city  or  town  within  our  kingdom* 

Wherefore,  and  for  divers  other  good  causes  and  considerations 
us  thereunto  moving,  now  being  past  our  perfect  age,  and  all  our 
revocations  aforesaid;  we  of  our  certain  knowledge  and  mere  mo- 
tion, with  advice  and  consent  of  the  lords  of  our  Privy  Council, 
and  by  the  special  advice  and  assent  of  Sir  Gheorge  Home  of  Spott, 
knight,  our  Treasurer,  Sir  David  Murray  of  Gosperdy,  knight,  our 
Comptroller,  and  Mr.  John  Prestoun  of  Fentounberns,  our  Col- 
lector General  and  Treasurer  of  the  new  augmentations  of  the 
church  lands  of  this  kingdom,  belonging  to  our  crown;  order  and 
ordain  a  charter  to  be  made  under  our  great  seal,  ratifying  and 
approving,  and  for  us  and  our  successors  perpetually  confirming 
all  the  charters,  enfeofttnents,  precepts,  and  instruments  of  sasine, 
confirmations,  acts,  sentences,  decrees,  rights,  titles,  securities, 
letters,  writs,  evidences,  donations,  gifts,  liberties,  commodities, 
immunities,  and  privileges  therein  contained,  made,  granted,  or  con- 
firmed by  us,  and  our  illustrious  predecessors,  kings  and  queens 
of  this  our  kingdom,  governors  and  regents  for  the  time  being,  to 
our  aforesaid  town  of  Edinburgh,  Provost,  Aldermen,  Bailifis, 
Dean  of  Ouild,  Treasurer,  Council,  Burgesses,  and  community, 
and  their  successors;  and  to  the  several  churches,  ministers,  cci- 
leges,  and  hospitals  of  the  said  town,  of  whatsoever  form  or  forma, 
content  or  contents,  date  or  daces  the  same  be  of;  and  the  parti* 
cularity  not  to^  prejudge  the  generality,  nor  the  generality  the 
particular  charters,  enfeoftments«  confirmations,  writs,  and  evidents, 
hereafter  specified,  donations,  gifts,  liberties,  commodities,  immu- 
nities, and  privileges  th»*ein  contained. 

That  b  to  say,  the  charter  of  fee-farm,  granted  by  King  Robert 
Bruce,  of  the  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  port  and  mills  of  Leith, 
with  their  appurtenances,  to  the  Burgesses  of  the  said  burgh,  as 
by  the  said  charter  under  his  great  seal,  dated  at  Cardroas  the 
twenty-eighth  day  of  May  (anno  1329)  and  of  his  reign  the 
twenty-fourth  year,  more  fully  does  appear. 

The  charter  made  by  King  James  II.  dated  at  Stirling  in  the 
year  of  God  1451,  and  of  his  reign  the  fifteenth  year,  granting  to 
the  Burgesses  and  community  of  the  said  town  of  Edinburgh, 
their  heirs  and  successors.  Burgesses  of  the  same,  and  others  buy- 
ing of  them,  whether  freemen  or  unfreemen,  an  acquittal  of  all 
duties  or  customs  on  salt,  and  on  skins  called  shorlmgs,  skaldings, 
futfeUs,  and  lantron  ware,  lamb-skins,  calf -skins,  coney-skins,  fbz- 
skins,  otter-skins,  and  fiilmert-skins;  always  excepting  the  petty 
customs  payable  to  the  said  Burgesses  and  community,  by  all  un- 
freemen and  strangers  for  the  same. 

The  charter  made  by  the  said  late  King  James  XL  dated  at 
Edinburgh  the  fourth  day  of  November,  1 454,  and  of  his  reign 
the  eighteenth  year,  to  the  aforesaid  Burgesses  of  our  said  town  of 


AKKAL&  61 

Edinburgh,  and  their  snooesson,  granting  them  a  right  annnallyy 
to  hold  within  our  said  burgh  a  court  of  parliament,  or  oonvention 
of  the  four  principal  boroughs  of  the  kingdom,  namdy,  Edinburgh, 
Stirling,  Linlithgow  and  Lanark. 

The  charter  made  by  the  stud  King  James,  dated  at  Edinburgh 
the  fourth  day  of  November,  in  the  year  of  Ood  and  reign  afore- 
said, to  the  aforesaid  Burgesses  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh, 
and  their  successors,  the  havensilver,  customs  and  duty  of  ships, 
vessels  and  merchandise  coming  to  the  road  and  harbour  of  Leith, 
as  particularly  set  forth  in  the  said  charter. 

The  charter  given  and  granted  by  the  said  late  King  James  II. 
dated  the  thirteenth  day  of  August,  anno  1456,  and  of  his  reign 
the  twentieth  year,  to  ^e  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council,  and  commu- 
nity of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  and  their  successors,  all  the 
vale  and  low  ground,  lying  between  the  rocks,  called  the  Craig- 
endgate  on  the  east,  and  the  King's  Highway,  or  common  road 
leading  to  Leith  on  the  west. 

The  charter  made  and  granted  by  the  aforesaid  King  James, 
dated  at  Stirling,  the  thirtieth  day  of  April  (in  the  year  1450) 
and  of  his  reign  the  thirteenth  year,  giving  license  to  the  Provost 
and  oommunity  of  the  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  to  fortify  the  same 
with  a  wall,  ditch,  towers,  and  turrets;  and  otherways  to  strengthen 
their  said  town  as  they  should  judge  necessary. 

The  charter  given  and  granted  by  the  late  King  James  IV. 
dated  at  Edinburgh  the  sixth  of  October,  anno  1 508,  and  of  his 
reign  the  twenty-first  year,  to  the  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council,  and 
community  of  the  said  town,  and  their  successors,  full  power  and 
license  to  set  or  let  in  fee-farm  their  common  lands,  called  the 
Borough  Moor ;  and  Uie  common  marsh,  denominated  the  Common 
Myre,  ratifying  and  confirming  the  enfeoffment  of  fee-farm  to  be 
granted  by  them  thereupon. 

The  charter  given  and  granted  by  the  said  late  King  James  IT. 
dated  at  Stirling  the  ninth  day  of  Marcli,  in  the  year  1510.  and 
of  his  reign  tlie  twenty-third  year,  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs, 
Council,  Burgesses,  and  community  of  the  said  town  of  Edinburgh, 
and  their  successors,  the  new  port,  denominated  New  Haven,  lately 
made  by  the  said  King,  on  the  sea-coast,  with  the  lands  tliereunto 
belonging;  lying  between  the  chapel  of  St.  Nicholas,  and  the 
lands  of  Weirdy-brae,  with  all  other  clauses,  faculties,  and  privi- 
l^es,  mentioned  in  the  said  charter. 

The  two  charters  made  and  granted  by  the  late  King  James 
ni.  to  the  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council,  Burgesses,  and  community 
of  the  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  and  their  successors  for  ever,  both 
dated  at  Edinburgh,  the  sixteenth  day  of  November,  anno  1482, 
and  of  his  reign  the  twenty-third  year:  One  of  said  charters 
contains  the  ofiioe  of  sheriffaltv  within  the  aforesaid  town  of  £d- 
inburgh,  with  other  rights  and  privileges:  The  other  of  the  said 
charters  contains  a  detail  of  the  customs,  profits,  exactions,  com- 


62  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

modlties  and  revenues  of  the  port  and  road  of  Leith,  and  of  the 
aforesaid  town  of  Edinburgh,  particularly  set  down  in  the  said 
charter,  with  all  the  rights  and  privileges  therein  specified. 

The  charter  made  and  granted  bv  the  late  Bobert  Logan  of 
Lestalrig,  knight,  to  the  Burgesses  and  community  of  the  said 
town  of  Edinburgh,  of  all  the  ways,  paths,  and  passages  within  his 
lands  of  Lestalrig,  with  a  power  of  lading  and  unlading  ships  and 
vessels  within  the  same,  and  on  the  river  of  Leith,  with  a  liberty 
to  break  up  his  ground  for  the  service  of  navigationr;  a  right  to 
sell  bread  and  wine,  keep  merchants'  shops,  store  up  com  in  gran- 
aries, and  to  do  other  things  contrary  to  the  liberty  and  custom 
of  the  said  burgh,  with  a  penalty  therein  in  case  of  a  contraven- 
tion; and  all  other  clauses  and  circumstances  therein  mentioned: 
Dated  at  Edinburgh  the  thirty-first  day  of  May,  anno  1398. 

The  charter  of  confirmation  given  and  granted  to  the  Provost, 
Bailiff,  Council,  and  community  of  the  said  town  of  Edinburgh 
by  the  late  King  James  lY.  of  pious  memory,  ratifying  and  con- 
firming the  three  charters  next  above  mentioned,  namely  the 
aforesaid  charter  by  the  laird  of  Lestalrig ;  the  aforesaid  charter 
of  the  office  of  sheriff ty ;  and  the  said  charter  of  customs,  more 
largely  contained  in  the  said  charter  of  confirmation,  dated  at 
Stirling,  the  ninth  day  of  March,  anno  1510,  and  of  his  reign  the 
twenty-third  year. 

The  charter  made  and  granted  by  the  late  King  James  11.  to 
the  aforesaid  Provost,  Bailii&,  Council,  and  community  of  the 
said  town,  and  their  successors,  of  the  Trinity  Fair,  to  be  held 
and  enjoyed  by  them  as  freely  as  their  fair,  called  All-hallows  Fair, 
was  possessed  by  them  at  any  time  heretofore:  Dated  at  Edin- 
burgh the  twenty-fourth  day  of  November,  in  the  year  1447,  and 
of  his  reign  the  eleventh  year. 

The  letters  of  gift  made  and  granted  by  the  late  Eling  James 
lY.  our  great  grandfather  of  good  memory,  under  his  privy  seal, 
dated  at  Edinburgh  the  second  of  November,  anno  1507,  and  of 
his  reign  the  twentieth  year,  to  the  Provost,  Bailifis,  Council  and 
community  of  the  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  of  the  Trinity  and  AU- 
hallow  fairs,  with  the  duties  and  customs  thereunto  belonging, 
with  the  times  of  their  commencement  and  duration. 

The  decreet  of  the  lords  of  session  in  favour  of  the  Provost, 
President,  Bailiff,  and  Council  of  the  said  town  of  Edinburgh, 
against  the  late  Robert  Bartane  of  Leith,  and  comptroller  to  our 
late  dearest  grandfather,  King  James  Y.  of  pious  memory,  order- 
ing the  said  Bobert,  and  all  others  dwelling  without  our  said 
town,  to  desist  and  cease  from  using  and  usurping  divers  rights 
and  privileges  of  our  aforesaid  town  of  Edinburgh,  and  liberties 
thereof,  as  more  fully  set  forth  in  the  said  decreet,  given  at  Edin- 
burgh, the  sixteenth  day  of  November,  in  the  yeai*  1518. 

The  decreet  of  the  lords  of  session  following  thereupon  in  fa- 
vour of  the  said  town,  against  the  inhabitants  of  Leith,  dated  at 


ANKALfi.  63 

Edinburgh  the    twenty -fourth  day  of   January,  in  the    year 
1522. 

The  confirmation  given  and  granted  by  our  dearest  mother, 
Mary  Queen  of  Scotland,  dated  at  Edinburgh  the  eighth  day  of 
October,  anno  1550,  and  of  her  reign  the  eighth  year,  ratifying 
and  approving  the  act  and  decreet  of  the  lords  of  council  and 
session,  therein  inserted:  Oiven  at  Edinburgh  the  seventeenth 
day  of  February,  in  the  year  1540,  against  the  inhabitants  of 
North  Leith,  adjudging  the  Provost  and  Bailifts  of  our  said  town 
of  Edinburgh  to  be  proper  judges  for  th4»  said  inhabitonu  in  the 
petty  customs  of  Leith,  belonging  to  our  aforesaid  town  of  Edin- 
burgh. 

The  confirmation  given  and  granted  by  our  dearest  mother,  of 
the  aforesaid  date,  ratifying  and  approving  the  decreet  of  the 
lords  of  session,  in  fsvour  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  against 
Thomas  Eichardson,  inhabitant  of  Leith,  finding  the  arrest  made 
on  his  ship  and  goods  by  tiie  said  Provost  and  Bailiflk,  for  the 
petty  customs,  not  to  be  taken  off. 

The  confirmation  made  and  given  by  us  at  Edinburgh,  the 
fifteenth  of  February,  anno  1576,  and  of  our  reign  the  tenth  year, 
'ratifying  and  approving  the  decreet  of  absolvitor  contained  therein, 
dated  at  Holyrood-house  the  twenty-second  day  of  December,  and 
year  aforesaid,  in  favour  of  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council  and 
community  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  and  their  successors 
against  the  Bailiffs,  Council,  and  inhabitants  of  the  Canougate, 
concerning  the  bringing  their  malt  to  the  market  of  our  said  town 
of  Edinburgh,  before  they  presume  to  sell  or  deliver  it  to  any  of 
the  cidxens. 

The  decree  given  by  us,  and  the  lords  of  our  privy  council,  in 
favour  of  the  Provost,  Bailiffs,  and  Counsellors  of  the  said  town  of 
Edinburgh  against  the  constable,  his  deputies,  and  ministers,  or- 
dering them  in  all  times  coming,  to  forbear  taking  constables'  fees 
for  any  manner  of  goods  brought  to  the  market  for  sale,  during 
the  convention  of  parliament,  general  councils,  or  sitting  of  the 
court  of  session,  till  his  authority  be  produced  in  parliunent  or 
general  oouncU,  and  judgment  given  thereon,  as  mentioned  in  the 
8aid  decree,  dated  at  Hol}Toodhouse,-the  twenty-eighth  day  of 
October,  anno  1581. 

The  charter  given  and  granted  by  our  late  dearest  father  and 
mother  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council,  Deacons,  and  com- 
munity of  the  said  town,  and  their  successors  of  the  superiority  of 
the  town  of  Leith,  and  others  fully  specified  in  the  said  charter, 
dated  at  Edinburgh  the  fourth  day  of  October,  anno  1565,  and  of 
their  reigns  the  first  and  twenty*third. 

The  letter  of  gift  under  our  privy  seal,  given  and  granted  by  us 
to  the  said  Provost,  Bailiff!^  Council,  and  community  of  the  said 
town  of  Edinburgh,  tlieir  Treasurer  and  Collectors,  to  receive  in 
their  names,  a  certain  tax  therein  specified,  during  the  term  therein 


64  HISTOBT  OP  EDINBURGH. 

mentioned,  toward  supporting,  erecting  and  repairing  the  bul- 
wark, pier,  and  port  of  Leith;  together  with  all  other  letta^, 
gifb,  and  licences  granted  by  us  and  our  predecessors,  for  receive 
ing  the  said  tax,  or  any  other  in  time  bypast,  given  for  that  pur- 
pose; dated  the  twenty-fourth  day  of  March,  anno  1596,  and  of 
our  reign  the  thirty-second  year. 

The  charter  made  and  granted  by  our  late  dear  mother,  to  the 
said  Provost,  Bailiff,  Council,  and  community  of  the  said  town  of 
Edinburgh,  and  their  successors,  of  all  and  several  the  lands,  ten- 
ements, houses,  buildings,  churches,  chapels,  gardens,  orchards, 
crofts,  annuities,  tithes,  fruits,  duties,  profits,  emoluments,  farms, 
alms,  dail-silver,  obits,  and  anniversaries  that  appertained  to 
whatever  chapelries,  altarages,  or  prebends,  in  whatsoever  churches, 
chapels  or  colleges,  founded  within  the  liberty  of  our  said  burgh, 
by  whatever  patron  the  said  chapelries  or  prebendaries  have  been 
possessed,  or  wherever  they  lie  within  our  kingdom,  either  within 
or  without  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  with  ail  the  lands  which 
belonged  to  the  Black  and  Gray  friars  within  our  said  town,  with 
divers  others  as  more  fully  set  forth  in  the  said  charter,  dated  the 
thirteenth  day  of  March,  in  the  year  1566,  and  of  her  reign  the 
twenty-fifth  year.  ^ 

The  decree  given  and  pronounced  by  the  lords  of  council  and 
session,  upon  the  ninth  day  of  March,  anno  1583,  ordaining  and 
declaring,  That  the  churches  of  Dunbemy,  Potty,  and  Moncreif, 
do,  and  in  all  times  coming,  shall  belong  to  the  aforesaid  Provosts, 
Bailiff!},  Council,  and  community  of  the  said  town  of  Edinburgh, 
according  to  the  tenor  of  the  foresaid  enfeofiment  granted  to  them 
by  our  said  dear  mother,  of  all  the  benefices,  prebendaries,  and 
other  foundatious  within  the  liberty  of  the  said  burgh,  conform  to 
the  union  and  annexation  of  the  tithe  sheaves,  and  emoluments  of 
the  rectory  of  the  aforesaid  church  of  Dunbemy,  whereof  the  said 
churches  of  Potty  and  Moncreif  are  appendages,  and  were  anciently 
annexed  to  the  collegiate  church  of  St.  Giles,  situate  within  our 
said  town  of  Edinburgh,  as  is  more  fully  contained  in  the  said 
decreet. 

The  charter  of  confirmation  given  and  granted  by  us,  con- 
firming the  charter  aforesaid,  dated  the  fourteenth  day  of  April, 
anno  1582,  and  of  our  reign  the  fifteenth  year. 

The  charter  given  and  gntnted  by  us  to  the  said  Provost, 
Bailiff,  and  Council,  of  our  said  burgh,  and  their  successors,  of 
all  the  benefit  arising  from  the  provostry  of  the  collegiate  church 
of  the  Trinity,  near  the  aforesaid  town  of  Edinburgh,  together 
with  all  the  lands,  churches,  tithes,  and  other  things  thereunto 
belonging,  with  the  parish  churches  of  Sowtry  and  Lympedaw, 
with  the  tithes  and  revenues  thereof,  anciently  appertaining  to  the 
said  provostry;  dated  the  twenty-third  of  June,  in  the  year  1585, 
and  of  our  reign  the  eighteenth  year. 

The  charter  of  confirmation  granted  by  us,  confirming  the 


AN1IAL8.  65 

aforesaid  charter  with  a  new  gift  of  the  said  provostry,  and  of  all 
the  several  churches,  tithes,  fruits  and  revenues  thereunto  belong- 
ing; together  with  all  the  fruits  and  rents  appertaining  to  the 
several  prebends,  and  chapelries  of  the  said  college,  or  to  the  pre- 
bendaries thereof  in  common,  or  to  any  other  in  property.  Dated 
the  twenty-sixth  day  of  May,  anno  1587,  and  of  our  reign  the 
twentieth  year. 

The  charter  made  and  granted  by  us  to  the  said  Provost, 
Bailifs,  Council,  and  community  of  the  said  town  of  Edinburgh, 
and  their  successors,  of  the  Trinity  college  and  cemetery  thereof 
with  the  several  buildings,  houses,  and  gardens,  with  the  Trinity 
hospital  and  sardens,  with  their  appurtenances.  Dated  the  twelfth 
day  of  November,  in  the  year  1567. 

The  donation  or  gift  made  and  granted  by  us  under  our  great 
seal,  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  April,  anno  1584,  and  of  our  reign 
the  seventeenth  year,  annexing  the  parsonage  and  vicarage  of 
Curry  with  the  tithes,  fruits,  rents,  buildings,  glebe  and  church- 
lands  thereunto  belonging,  anciently  called  the  archdeaconr}'  of 
Lothian,  to  the  college  founded  within  the  aforesaid  burgh,  by  the 
Provost,  Bailiffs  and  Council  of  the  same. 

The  charter,  gift  and  disposition  given  and  granted  by  us  under 
our  great  seal,  on  the  29th  day  of  May,  in  the  year  1594,  and  of 
our  reign  the  twenty-seventh  year ;  whereby  we  gave  to  the  said 
new  college  founded  within  the  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  the  tithes 
of  com  of  the  lands  of  Westbams  and  Ardrisipsies,  croft  of  Crail, 
and  Kingsmoor,  when  they  shall  happen  to  be  tithed,  with  the 
tithes  of  Drumrack,  Mairstotin,  Eippo,  Nakedfield,  Gharstoun  and 
Byndwalls,  witli  their  appurtenances,  all  lying  within  the  parish 
of  Crail  in  our  sheridVick  of  Fife,  for  the  maintenance  of  as  many 
bursars  studying  philosophy,  as  the  same  conveniently  can  sustain 
in  their  proper  chambers,  within  the  said  college. 

And  likewise  all  and  singular  other  charters,  enfeoffments,  gifts, 
benefactions,  rights,  immunities  and  privileges,  acts  of  parliament, 
general  conventions,  pri\7  council,  sentences  and  decreets  given 
by  us,  and  by  our  illustrious  progenitors,  or  made  and  given  by 
whatever  person  or  persons,  in  favour  of  the  Aldermen,  Provost, 
Bailiffs,  Council,  and  community  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh 
for  the  time;  and  to  their  predecessors  and  successors,  concerning 
the  erection  of  their  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  into  a  free  royal 
burgh,  with  the  rights,  titles  and  privileges  belonging  to  the  same, 
by  virtue  of  the  laws  and  customs  of  our  kingdom ;  and  of  all  the 
lands,  w^ays,  streets,  passages,  moors,  subsidies,  duties,  lakes,  ten- 
ements, houses,  gardens,  lordships,  possessions,  annualrents,  mills, 
mill-lands,  multures,  dams,  braes,  haughs,  and  their  appurtenances; 
together  with  the  aforesaid  ports  and  roads  of  Leith  and  Newhaven, 
port-money,  anchorage,  and  customs,  great  and  small,  belonging 
to  the  said  town,  both  within  and  without  the  said  burgh,  ports 
and  district  aforesaid;    and  of  all  jurisdictions,  courts,  ofSce:^, 

£ 


66  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

profits,  duties,  Ones,  exactions,  and  casualties  thereunto  belong- 
ing; and  of  all  fairs  and  markets,  with  their  usual  customs,  pri- 
vileges, and  immunities;  and  all  other  liberties  used  and  wont: 
rents,  lands,  and  jurisdictions,  which  the  said  Aldermen,  Provost* 
BailifSi,  Council  and  community  of  our  said  burgh,  have  by  them- 
selves or  their  predecessors  enjoyed,  possessed,  or  used  in  any 
time  bypast,  or  which  they  at  present  use,  enjoy  and  possess. 

And  likewise  all  and  singular  the  mortifications,  rights  of  pa- 
tronage, enfeoffments,  donations  and  dispositions,  made  and  granted 
by  us  and  our  predecessors,  or  by  what  person  soever,  either 
spiritual  or  secular,  to  the  said  Aldermen,  Provost,  Bailifis,  Coun- 
cil and  community  of  our  said  burgh,  ministers,  hospital  and  poor 
thereof,  and  their  predecessors,  of  all  lands,  tenements,  houses, 
buildings,  gardens,  orchards,  churches,  chapels,  chapelries,  patron- 
ages, colleges,  revenues,  fee-^rms,  obits,  anniversaries,  dail-silver, 
tithes,  as  well  of  rectories  as  vicarages,  wherever  they  lie,  within 
or  without  the  aforesaid  town,  either  generally  or  particularly 
mentioned  in  their  said  gifts,  mortifications,  donations  or  disposi- 
tions, or  any  of  them,  after  the  form  or  tenor  thereof;  together 
with  all  acts  of  parliament,  general  councils,  or  other  acts,  sen- 
tences or  decrees  concerning  the  same. 

And  we  will  and  grant,  and  f<>r  us  and  our  successors,  by  the 
advice  aforesaid,  perpetually  appoint  and  ordain,  that  the  aforesaid 
generality  shall  not  prejudice  the  speciality,  or  the  speciality  hurt 
the  generality;  and  this  present  confirmation,  and  approbation  of 
the  premises,  is,  and  shall,  in  all  times  coming,  be  as  good,  valid 
and  sufScient  to  the  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  Provost,  Bailifis, 
Council,  Burgesses  and  community  of  the  same,  and  to  their  suc- 
cessors, colleges,  ministers,  hospitals  and  poor  thereof,  as  if  all  the 
said  enfeo^ments,  gifts,  donations,  mortifications,  confirmations, 
rights,  titles,  securities,  letters,  writs,  evidents,  acts,  decreets  and 
sentences;  and  ail  donations,  dispositions,  gifts,  liberties,  commo- 
dities, immunities  and  privileges,  whether  generally  or  particularly 
therein  mentioned,  were  at  full  length  inserted  and  engrossed 
word  for  word,  notwithstanding  the  not  inserting  thereof,  by  rea- 
son of  the  multitude,  great  number  and  prolixity  of  the  same; 
wherefore'  we,  tor  us  and  our  successors,  have  dispensed,  and  by 
this  our  present  charter  now  and  for  ever  dispenseth  therewith. 

Moreover,  we,  without  hurt,  derogation  or  prejudice  of  the 
aforesaid  charters,  enfeofiTments,  mortifications,  confirmations, 
rights,  titles,  securities,  letters,  writs  and  evidences;  acts  made  iu 
parliament,  conventions,  privy  council,  sentences,  acts,  decreets, 
donations,  gitts,  liberties,  commodities,  immunities  and  privileges. 
And,  for  the  better  corroborating  thereof,  accumidando  jurajuri'- 
Ims,  we  of  new,  by  the  advice  and  consent  aforesaid,  for  the  good 
and  faithful  service  done  to  us  and  our  illustrious  progenitors,  by 
the  said  Provost,  Council  and  commuuitv  of  the  said  town  of  £d- 
iuburgh,  and  their  predecessors;  and  the  better  to  induce  them 


ANKAL8.  67 

to  persevere  in  their  said  sernoe,  give,  grant,  and  hereditably 
demise  in  fee-farm;  and  by  this  our  present  charter,  by  the 
advice  aforesaid,  give,  grant,  and  perpetually  confirm  to  our 
aforesaid  beloved  and  faithful  servants,  the  Pro\'Ost,  Bailiffs, 
Coandl,  Burgesses,  and  community  of  the  said  town  of  Exlin- 
burgh,  and  their  successors,  for  ever,  all  the  aforesud  town  of 
Edinburgh,  with  its  walls,  ditches,  gates,  houses,  ways,  streets, 
passages,  causeways,  lands,  territories  and  communiti^  thereof, 
mills,  mill-lands,  multures,  dams,  braes,  heughs,  and  appurten- 
ances, as  aforesaid,  creating,  erecting,  and  constituting  the  said 
town  into  a  royal  free  burgh,  with  all  and  singular  the  liber- 
ties, privileges,  immunities  and  jurisdictions,  which  by  the  laws 
and  customs  of  our  kingdom,  belonged,  belongs,  or  justly  may  ap- 
pertain to  a  burgh-royal ;  within  and  about  the  said  town ;  and  in 
and  through  all  parts  of  the  county,  as  far  as  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  sheriff  of  Edinburgh  extends,  or  may  be  extended,  both  in 
length  and  breadth,  as  well  regality  as  royalty,  and  in  parti- 
cular from  Edgebuckling-brae  on  the  east,  to  the  river  Almond 
on  the  west;  to  the  confines  of  the  aforesaid  sheriffwick  on  the 
south,  and  to  the  middle  of  the  frith  of  Forth  on  the  north,  with 
full  power  and  liberty  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council,  Bur- 
gesses and  community  of  the  said  town,  and  their  successors,  to 
have,  frequent,^  use  and  exercise  the  trade  and  traffic  of  mer- 
chandise, to  buy  and  sell  all  sorts  of  commodities,  both  domestic 
and  foreign,  not  only  within  our  aforesaid  town,  lands,  territory', 
jurisdiction  and  liberties  thereof,  but  also  within  the  several  lands 
and  districts,  lying  within  our  aforesaid  sheriffwick,  as  well  re- 
gality as  royalty,  both  in  breadth  and  length  of  tlie  same;  and  for 
ever  to  have,  enjoy  and  ]>ossess  in  the  aforesaid  town  and  liberties, 
or  mercantile  guild,  with  its  court,  council,  members,  jurisdictions, 
liberties  and  privileges  belonging  to  the  same;  and  in  all  things 
as  freely,  as  is  granted  by  us  and  our  predecessors  to  the  aforesaid 
town,  or  to  any  other  royal  free  burgli  within  our  kingdom ;  and 
as  freely  as  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Dean  of  Guild,  and  Council, 
or  any  of  them,  or  their  predecessors  had,  have  used  or  exercised 
the  liberties  and  jurisdictions  of  the  said  ifree  burgh,  merchandise 
and  guild ry,  with  the  several  immunities,  liberties  and  privileges 
granted  b}*  the  laws  of  this  kingdom,  or  by  treaties  in  the  countries 
of  France  and  Flanders,  appertaining  to  the  exercise  of  commerce, 
with  their  merchant  or  guild  court,  which  belonged  to,  and  still 
belongs  to  them. 

And  also  to  have,  enjoy,  and  exercise  weekly  within  the  said 
burgh,  on  every  Monday,  Wednesday  and  Friday,  or  any  other 
three  days  of  the  week,  as  the  Provost,  Bailiffs  and  Council  of  the 
said  burgh  shall  agree  on,  whereof  intimation  shall  be  given  for 
holding  the  public  markets  thereon,  with  the  two  above  mentioned 
fsirs  of  AU-haUows  and  the  Trinity,  to  be  held  and  continue  at^ 
usual,  together  with  the  sheriff's  fees,  sheriff's  gloves,  tolls,  cu.>- 


68  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

toms,  ftnd  all  other  fees,  privileges,  liberties,  and  duties,  which  to 
the  Aaid  fairs  or  markets,  or  to  any  other  fair  or  market  within 
our  kingdom,  by  law  or  custom,  is  known  to  belong,  be  enjoyed 
by  them,  as  fiilly  and  freely  as  their  predecessors  possessed  the 
same;  commanding  and  charging,  that  no  unlreeman,  whether  of 
regality  or  royalty,  presume  to  use  or  exercise  within  the  freedom 
of  tiie  said  town  and  bounds  of  the  said  sheriffwick,  the  trade  or 
traffic  of  merchandise,  either  foreign  or  domestic,  appertaining  to 
a  borough  royal,  or  to  any  immunity,  or  privilege  belonging  to 
our  aforesaid  town  of  Edinburgh,  or  district  of  our  aforesaid 
sheriffwick,  under  the  pain  of  imprisonment  and  escheat  of  their 
goods  and  merchandise,  wherever  the  same  may  be  found. 

Moreover,  we,  with  the  advice  and  consent  aforesaid,  and  by 
this  our  present  charter,  give  and  grant  to  the  aforesaid  Provost, 
Bailiffs,  and  Council  of  the  said  town  and  their  successors,  full 
po^er,  commission,  and  authority  to  make  and  publish  acts, 
statutes,  and  ordinances,  for  the  good  government  of  the  said 
town,  and  maintaining  the  libertieit  and  privileges  thereof,  to  be 
observed  and  kept  by  the  Burgesses  and  inhabitants  of  the  same, 
and  persons  resorting  thereto,  under  such  pains  and  penalties  as 
they  shall  judge  expedient;  with  power  to  put  in  execution,  within 
the  liberties  of  the  said  town  and  sheriffwick  aforesaid,  all  and 
:<ingular  the  said  acts  and  ordinances,  all  acts  of  parliament,  gen- 
eral conventions,  privy  council,  constitutions  of  the  boroughs,  and 
all  other  acts,  decreets,  or  sentences  given,  or  to  be  given,  made 
and  published  in  behalf  of  the  said  liberties:  And  for  the  better 
execution  thereof,  to  sit,  judge,  and  determine  therein ;  making, 
creating,  and  constituting  them  and  their  successors,  sheri&,  and 
judges  within  the  bounds  aforesaid,  with  power  to  call,  arrest, 
ward,  and  imprison  the  contraveners  of  the  privileges,  acts,  con- 
stitutions, and  sentences  aforesaid,  to  seize  their  effects,  and  escheat 
the  same,  to  be  disposed  of  for  the  benefit  of  the  said  town,  in 
support  of  the  public  affairs,  together  with  all  penalties  and  fines 
the  contraveners  shall  incur,  or  be  adjudged  in  for  their  respective 
offences. 

Moreover,  we  now  long  after  our  perfect  age,  with  the  advice 
and  consent  aforesaid,  have  given  and  granted,  and  in  fee-farm 
liereditarily  demised ;  and  by  this  our  present  charter  of  new,  sets 
in  fee-farm,  and  hereditarily  lets,  and  for  us  and  our  successors 
perpetually  confirms  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council,  Bur« 
gesses,  and  community  of  the  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  and  to 
their  successors  for  ever,  all  and  singular  the  lands  of  the  said 
town  called  the  Common  Moor,  both  eastern  and  western,  and 
Common  Myre,  both  arable  and  unarable,  with  all  the  houses^ 
buildings,  gardens,  tofts,  crofts,  and  appurtenances  thereof,  as  they 
are  at  present  possessed  by  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffk,  Council,  and 
community,  their  feuars,  farmers,  and  tenants;  together  with  the 
Southlake,  called  the   Borough  loch,   with  the  grounds,  lands, 


ANNALS.  69 

myres,  and  marshes  tbereunto  belon^ng;  aDd  all  the  other  lake 
of  the  said  town,  denominated  the  Nordlocb,  with  the  grounds, 
lands,  myresy  and  marshes  thereof;  the  banks  and  braes  south  and 
north,  situate  at  the  western  end  of  the  said  town,  before,  and  on 
both  sides  our  Castle  of  Edinburgh.  And  that  part  of  the  aaid 
town,  called  under  the  Castle  wdl,  asoending  northwards  to  the 
top  of  the  hill,  and  crossing  the  same,  descends  northwards  and 
joins  the  said  Nordloch.  Also  the  twelve  conunon  mills  of  the 
said  town,  situate  on  both  sides  the  river  of  Leith,  with  all  the 
other  mills,  mill-lands,  aqueducts,  and  dams,  houses,  buildings, 
bridges,  heughs,  braes,  ditches,  ways,  streets,  and  passages  leading 
to  and  from  the  said  mills;  all  multures,  knaveships,  suocyn,  thir- 
la^e,  parts,  pendicles,  appurtenances,  and  sequels  tliereof,  witii 
their  several  privDeges  and  appurtenances,  witi)  a  power  to  erect 
more  mills  and  bridges  on  both  sides,  and  over  the  said  river  in 
such  places  as  they  shall  judge  most  convenient.  With  the  vale 
and  low  lands,  banks,  braes,  meadows,  niyres,  marshes,  and  their 
appurtenances  lying  between  the  aforesaid  rocks,  called  the  Craig- 
endgate  on  the  east;  and  the  common  way  or  passage  leading  to 
the  said  town  of  Leith  on  the  west.  Together  with  the  lands  an- 
ciently called  the  Greenside,  with  the  Leper's  hospital  and  garden 
situate  therein,  with  the  arable  and  other  lands  tbereunto  belong- 
ing, namely,  banks,  braes,  myres,  marshes,  and  their  appurten- 
ances, at  present  possessed  and  occupied  by  the  lepers  of  tbe  said 
house,  and  byjiie  said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  and  Council,  and  their 
tenants,  lying  on  the  northern  side  of  the  said  vale  and  low  grounds 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  said  way,  leading  to  Leith. 

And  also,  all  and  singular  the  petty  customs  undermentioned  to 
to  be  paid  by  unfreemen,  on  all  g^oods  coming  in  and  going  out  at 
the  gates  of  the  said  town,  to,  or  from  the  markets  of  the  same, 
and  the  house  of  the  Moor;  together  with  the  duties  and  cu»- 
toms  of  weighage  and  metage  of  the  haUs  of  the  said  town,  con- 
tained in  the  table  thereof  as  foUows;  that  is  to  say,  1.  Of  each 
load  of  merchandise,  viz.  skins,  hides,  cloth,  wool,  flax,  hemjj, 
pitch,  tar,  iroi2,  ashes,  and  the  like  sorts  of  merchandise,  eight 
pennies ;  and  for  every  burden  of  the  same,  four  pennies.  2.  Of 
each  horse-load  of  fish,  flesh,  com,  and  provisions  of  all  sorts,  four  , 
pennies;  and  for  each  burden  of  the  same  two  pennies,  d.  ¥ot 
every  load  of  ale,  eight  pennies;  and  for  each  burden  of  the  same, 
four  pennies.  4.  Of  every  load  of  materials  for  ploughs,  carts, 
wains,  sleds,  harrows,  barrows,  and  earthen  wares,  coming  in  and 
going  out,  four  pennies;  and  of  each  burden  two  pennies.  5.  For 
every  horse,  mare,  or  stag,  eight  pennies.  6.  For  every  ox,  or 
cow,  six  pennies.  7.  For  every  sheep  carcase,  two  peimies;  and 
for  each  lamb,  one  penny.  8.  For  every  score  of  geese,  twelve 
pennies.  9.  For  every  s^-ine,  four  pennies.  10.  For  all  sorts  of 
merchandise  coming  in  and  going  out  at  the  ports  of  Leith  and 
Kewhaven,  which  ought  to  be  weighed  in  Edinburgh,  freemen  of 


70  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

other  burghs  breaking  bulk,  to  pay  for  each  stone- weight,  one 
penny;  and  unfreemen,  wheciier  chey  break  bulk  or  not,  two 
pennies.  1 1.  For  each  stone- freight  of  wool,  butter,  cheese,  tal- 
low, and  Scottish  flax,  weighed  or  sold  in  Edinburgh,  of  every 
freeman  of  this  city,  one  penny ;  and  of  all  others,  whether  free  or 
unfree  of  a  royal  burgh,  two  pennies.  L2.  For  each  load  of  vict- 
ual coming  to  the  halls,  or  markets  of  our  said  town,  for  standing- 
room,  house-rent,  and  support  of  the  said  halls,  or  market-place, 
twelve  pennies,  every  market-day;  together  with  the  escheat  of 
all  victual  or  corn  brought  into  the  said  town  for  sale,  in  the  pos- 
session of  regraters,  or  forestallers,  or  housed,  and  not  brought  to 
market  as  aforesaid.  13.  For  the  metage  of  all  sorts  of  corn,  sold 
or  measured  within  the  said  town,  each  load,  twelve  pennies. 

And  further,  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council,  and  community', 
and  their  successors,  shall  for  ever  enjoy,  use,  and  possess  all  otiier 
customs  of  the  said  burgh,  both  within  and  without  the  gates,  in 
the  streets,  and  market-places  appointed,  or  to  be  appointed  by 
them,  or  their  successors  in  time  coming.  And  at  the  market- 
place called  the  House  of  the  Moor,  with  weighage  and  metage  in 
the  said  town,  and  the  rents  of  stands  in  the  Land,  Meal,  and 
Cloth-markets,  with  all  other  customs,  sheriff-fees,  duties,  and  ex- 
actions in  and  about  the  said  town,  in  as  full  and  ample  a  manner 
as  the  said  Provost,  Bailifis,  Council,  and  community,  their  pre- 
decessors, servants,  or  tenanft,  formerly  used  to  enjoy  and  receive, 
without  prejudice  of  the  speciality  by  the  generality,  or  hurt  of 
the  generality  by  the  particularity. 

Likewise  all  the  aforesaid  port,  harbour,  and  road  of  Leith,  with 
the  lands  and  appurtenances  thereof,  with  all  and  singular,  the 
piers,  shores,  and  bulwarks,  with  the  several  streets,  ways,  and 
passages,  leading  to  the  said  port,  harbour,  and  river  of  Leith> 
and  adjoining  to  the  houses  and  buildings  on  both  sides  respec- 
tively, with  sJl  the  privileges,  customs,  and  conveniences  thereunto 
belonging;  and  in  particular,  all  the  privileges,  customs,  harbour, 
dock,  and  shore^ilver,  anchorage,  golden  pennies,  exactions,  rent;5, 
duties,  and  casualties  of  the  said  port,  haven,  i*aid,  and  towns  of 
Leith  and  Newhaven,  according  to  the  following  table,  clauses, 
conditions,  and  privileges  therein  contained;  which -we  command 
and  ordain  to  be  inserted  in  the  present  charter,  to  be  observed 
and  kept  by  all  our  subjects  and  strangers  using  the  said  ports  of 
Leith  and  Newhaven,  to  be  published  in  the  said  town  of  Leith, 
that  none  may  plead  ignorance. 

TUS  TABLE. 

The  Provosts,  Bailifis,  Council,  Burgesses,  and  community  of 
the  said  burgh,  and  their  successors,  be  quit  and  free  from  the 
payment  of  custom  for  salt,  shorelings,  shaldings,  futfells,  lantrone 
ware,  iamb-skins,  calf-skins,  coney-skins,  otter-skins,  and  fiiimart- 
skins;  and  that  it  shall  be  kwful  to  them  to  sell  the  aforesaid  salt 


ANXALS.  71 

ftnd  skios  to  aliens  and  strangers,  or  others  custom-free,  other 
than  the  petty  customs  of  Leith,  which  are  to  be  paid  to  the  re- 
ceivers ai  in  times  past  2.  The  harbour- money  of  Leith  to  be 
paid  both  by  free  and  unfreemen  tnd  strangers,  importing  or  ex- 
porting merchandise  to  and  from  the  port  of  Leith. 

1.  Of  all  bags,  packs,  and  barrels  of  goods,  every  freeman  of 
Edinburgh  to  pay  for  each  ton,  four  pennies;  the  inhabitants  of 
boroughs  eight  pennies;  and  strangers,  and  unfreemen,  two 
shillings. 

2.  For  every  last  of  hides,  a  Burgess  of  Edinburgh,  ten  pen- 
nies; freemen  of  boroughs,  twenty  pence;  unfreemen  and  stran- 
gers, five  shillings. 

3.  Com,  meal,  malt,  and^salt,  growing  and  made  within  this 
our  kingdom,  a  Burgess  of  Edinburgh,  for  each  chalder,  four  pen- 
nies; freemen  of  boroughs,  eight  pennies;  unfreemen  and  strangers, 
two  shillings. 

4.  For  every  ton  of  foreign  victual  or  com,  salt,  and  granar}* 
goods;  Edinburgh,  four  pennies;  boroughs,  eight  pennies;  stran* 
gers  and  unfreemen,  two  shillings. 

o.  For  every  chalder  of  coals  and  lime  imported,  Edinburgh 
two  pennies;  boroughs,  four  pennies;  unfreemen  and  strangers, 
twelve  pennies;  and  for  every  chalder  of  the  said  goods  ex])orted, 
Edinburgh,  four  pennies;  borouglis,  eight  pennies;  unfreemen  and 
strangers,  two  shillings. 

6.  For  every  hundred  of  boards,  deals,  single-roof  spars,  and 
bowstings,  Edinburgh,  eight  pennies;  boroughs,  sixteen  pennies; 
unfreemen  and  strangers,  four  shillings. 

7.  For  every  hundred  of  double-roof  spars,  Edinburgh,  sixteen 
pennies;  boroughs,  thirty-two  pennies;  strangers  and  unfreemen, 
eight  sliillings. 

8.  For  every  joist,  oorbale,  and  wainscot,  Edinburgh,  one 
penny ;  boroughs,  two  pennies ;  strangers  and  unfreemen,  six 
pennies. 

9.  For  every  hundred  of  Dantzic  knappel,  Edinburgh,  four 
pennies;  boroughs,  eight  pennies;  unfreemen  and  strangers,  two 
sliillings.  And  for  Norway  knap|)el,  Edinburgh,  two  pennies; 
boroughs,  four  pennies;  unfreemen  and  strangers,  twelve  pennies: 
And  the  larger  knappel  to  pay  double  of  that  of  Dantzic. 

10.  For  every  hundred  wicker-spars,  Edinburgh,  two  pennies; 
boroughs,  four  pennies;  unfreemen  and  strangers,  twelve  pennies. 

11.  For  every  hundred  of  girth-strings,  and  skowes,  Edinburgh, 
one  penny;  boroughs,  two  pennies;  strangers  and  unfreemen,  six 
pennies;  and  each  fathom  of  firewood,  the  same. 

12.  For  every  dreg-boat  and  small  cock-boat,  four  pennies; 
each  ferry-boat  inward,  four  pennies;  and  outward  four  pennies: 
and  for  keeping  good  order  in  their  several  stations,  twelve  pennies. 

13.  For  every  large  lime-boat,  and  crear  without  a  topmast, 
haven,  and  dock-silver,  forty  pennies. 


72  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

14.  For  every  bark,  and  erear  with  a  topmast,  haven,  and  dock- 
money,  six  shillings  and  eight  pennies. 

15.  For  every  ship  or  vessel  above  forty  tons  in  burden,  bar* 
bour  and  dock-silver,  thirteen  shillings  and  fourpence. 

'Besides,  in  the  harboui;  and  on  the  shore  or  quay  of  Leith,  the 
following  customs  and  duties  are  to  be  paid  to  the  said  town  of 
Edinburgh,  by  the  freemen  of  boroughs,  unfreemen,  and  strangers. 
1.  For  every  barrel  of  tar,  pitch,  ashes,  or  other  barrelled  gooiis 
sold  there,  two  pennies.  2.  For  every  load  of  onions,  apples, 
com,  victual,  butter,  cheese,  or  other  goods  measured  or  sold  in 
Leith,  to  be  carried  out  of  the  same,  two  pennies.  3.  For  every 
load  of  white  fish  or  herrings  brought  to,  or  sent  from  Leith,  two 
pennies.  4.  For  every  hundred  of  large  fish,  such  as  cod,  stockfish, 
ling,  salmon,  and  others,  unbarrelled,  twelve  pennies.  5.  For  every 
pack  of  cloth  landed  by  unfreemen  and  strangers,  eight  pennies. 
6.  For  every  load  of  salt  measured  in  Leith,  two  pennies.  7.  For 
every  hundred  of  boards,  deals,  single-roof  spars,  and  bowstings, 
sold  in  Leith,  five  shillings ;  and  double-roof  spars  at  ten  shillings. 

8.  For  every  joist,  corbale,  or  wainscot,  two  pennies.  9.  For 
every  hundred  of  knappel,  two  shillings.  10.  For  every  hundred 
of  wicker  spars,  twelve  pennies.  11.  For  every  hundred  of  girth- 
strings,  and  skowes,  four  pennies.  12.  For  every  fathom  of  fire- 
wood, two  pennies.  13.  For  every  hundred  weight  of  osmond, 
brought  into  Leith  by  unfreemen,  eight  pennies.  14.  For  every 
daker  of  hides  landed  at  Leith,  by  unfreemen  and  strangers,  eight 
pennies.  15.  For  every  hundred  of  sheep-skins,  calf,  goat,  coney, 
or  other  skins  not  paying  custom  in  Edinburgh,  eight  pennies. 
16.  All  the  tume  voiders  of  goods,  vented  or  tumed  in  the  road, 
harbour,  or  town  of  Leith,  and  fyllings,  to  be  duties  to  the  town 
of  Edinburgh. 

And  besides,  the  following  customs  belonging  to  the  treasury, 
which  the  town  of  Edinburgh  receive  of  strangers  and  unfreemen 
for  ships  and  merchandise  arriving  at  the  port  of  Leith,  and  en* 
tered  in  the  town's  books,  together  with  the  escheat  thereof,  of  all 
persons  whatever,  whether  free  or  unfree,  when  seized  for  non- 
entry,  viz.  1.  For  every  last  of  barrelled  goods,  such  as  pitch,  tar, 
meal,  ashes,  and  the  like,  two  shillings.  2.  For  every  t\m  of  wine, 
two  shillings.  3.  For  every  butt  of  malmsey,  eighteen  pennies. 
4.  Of  Rhenish  wine,  because  of  the  great  steikes  of  each  Scottish 
pound's  worth,  four  pennies.  Of  all  sorts  of  canvass,  dry  measur- 
able goods,  and  other  costly  merchandise  for  every  Scottish 
pound's  worth,  four  pennies.  5.  For  every  barrel  of  soap,  oil, 
butter,  flesh,  tallow,  and  salmon,  twelve  pennies.  6.  For  every 
barrel  of  onions,  and  apples,  six  pennies.  7.  'For  every  last  of 
flax,  twenty  shillings.     8.  For  every  last  of  hemp,  ten  shillings. 

9.  For   every  last  of  iron,  thirteen  shillings  and  four  pennies. 

10.  For  every  hundred  of  hoards,  deals,  single-roof  spars,  and 
bowstings,  six  shillings  and  eight  pennies.    11.  For  every  hundred 


ANNAU5.  73 

of  double-roof  spars,  tbirteen  sbiUiDgs  and  four  pennies.  12.  For 
every  joist,  oorbale,  or  wainscot,  six  pennies.  13.  For  every 
hundred  of  Dantzic  knappel,  two  shillings.  14.  For  every  hundred 
of  Norway  knappel,  twelve  pennies.  15.  For  every  hundred  of 
double-knappel,  four  shillings.  16.  For  every  hundred  of  wickar 
spars,  twelve  pennies.  17.  For  every  hundred  of  girth-strings, 
and  skowes,  six  pennies.  18.  For  every  fathom  of  firewood  six 
pennies.  19.  For  every  bag  of  wood,  two  shillings.  20.  Of 
every  ship  laden  with  granary  goods,  two  polls,  one  before  and 
the  other  behind  the  mast,  to  be  applied  to  the  church  work. 
21.  For  the  anchorage  of  each  ship  above  forty  tons  in  burden, 
thirty  shillings  and  four  pennies.  22.  For  the  anchorage  of  each 
ship  below  forty  tons  in  burden,  ten  shillings.  23.  For  each 
crear,  six  shillings  and  eight  pennies. 

And  the  said  unfreemen  and  strangers  shall  pay  to  the  said 
town  for  their  goods  and  mercliandise  exported  from*  the  said  port 
of  L^th,  the  several  duties  foUowing,  namely,  1.  For  every  chal- 
der  of  salt,  two  shillings.  2.  For  every  chalder  of  smith's  coals, 
thirty-two  pennies.  3.  For  every  last  of  hides,  ten  shillings. 
4.  For  every  sack  of  wool,  or  skins,  twenty  shillings.  5.  For 
every  pack  of  cloth,  six  shillings  and  eight  pennies.  6.  For  every 
pack  of  lamb-skins,  coney-skins,  otter,  fox,  and  fulmarts'  skins, 
and  the  like,  ten  shillings. 

Moreover,  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council  and  community  of 
the  said  burgh,  and  their  successors,  by  themselves,  their  Trea- 
surer, collectors  or  farmers  in  all  time  coming,  take  and  receive 
the  shore-money,  exactions,  duties  and  customs  hereafter  specified 
(of  which  they  are  in  present  possession)  of  all  goods  and  mer- 
chandise appertaining  to  freemen,  unfreemen  and  strangers;  and 
of  all  ships,  crears  or  boats  arriving  in  the  port  of  Leith,  to  be 
employed  in  building,  enlarging,  strengthening,  and  upholding  the 
said  port  and  pier  of  Leith.  That  is  to  say,  1.  Of  every  ton  of 
goods  or  merchandise  laden  or  unladen  in  the  port  of  Leith,  two 
shillings;  and  of  the  ship,  bark  or  vessel,  for  each  ton  it  carries, 
twelve  pennies.  2.  For  ever}*  hundred  of  timber  arriving  at  the 
said  port,  to  take  one  piece  tliereof;  and  at  its  going -forth,  being 
sold,  another  piece.  3.  For  every  chalder  of  victual  brought  in 
or  carried  out  at  the  said  |»ort,  sixteen  pennies ;  and  of  the  ship, 
crear  or  boat,  eight  pennies;  and  the  like  of  all  other  goods  which 
are  sold  by  the  chalder,  and  the  ship,  bark  or  boat  wherein  the 
same  are  laden,  as  aforesaid. 

Moreover,  that  no  manner  of  staple  goods,  whether  of  strangers 
or  freemen  of  other  boroughs,  after  they  are  unladen,  be  housed, 
or  remain  longer  in  Leith  than  they  xhay  be  carried  to  the  said 
town  of  Edinburgh,  under  the  pain  of  escheat;  and  that  the  said 
goods  or  merchandise  be  not  sold  or  disposed  of  in  Leith,  under 
the  same  penalty,  to  be  taken  by  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs  and 
Council,  and  their  successors,  and  applied  to  the  town's  use. 


7-i  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

Ajid  in  like  manner,  that  the  mid  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council  anil 
community  of  the  said  burgh,  and  their  successors,  eojoy,  use  and 
possess  all  other  customs  and  privileges  within  our  said  burgh, 
town  of  Leith,  and  river  thereof,  according  to  law,  with  their 
water-courts,  attachments,  fines  and  duties,  in  as  ample  and  full  a 
manner,  as  they  and  their  predecessors  have  done;  commanding 
and  charging  both  our  subjects  and  strangers,  and  all  whom  it 
may  concern,  to  obey,  answer,  and  make  thankful  payment  to  the 
said  Provost,  Bailiff,  Council  and  community  of  the  said  town  of 
Edinburgh,  and  to  their  successors,  factors,  collectors,  farmers  and 
toll-gatherers  of  all  and  sundry  the  atbresaid  customs,  namely, 
haven-silver,  dock-silver,  and  shore-silver,  golden  penny,  anchor* 
age,  exactions,  rents,  duties  and  casualties  above  mentioned,  under 
the  several  pains  and  penalties  that  may  thereafter  follow. 

We  have  also,  by  the  advice  aforesaid,  given,  granted  and  dis- 
poned, and  by  this  our  present  charter  gives,  grants  and  dispones 
to  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council  and  community  of  the  said 
burgh,  and  their  successors,  all  the  ground  and  land,  formerly 
called  the  Common  Closets,  and  of  late  denominated  the  Burse,  or 
place  where  the  people  or  merchants  used  to  assemble  to  treat  of 
their  afiairs,  with  tiie  enclosure  fenced  with  boards,  lately  erected 
by  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs  and  Council,  as  a  conservatory  for 
wood,  and  a  common  market-place,  and  for  such  other  uses  as 
shall  be  judged  proper,  being  situate  and  lying  at  the  northern 
end  of  the  town  of  Leith,  adjoining  to  our  messuage  and  garden, 
denominated  the  King's  Work;  together  with  the  waste  ground 
and  sands,  partly  overflowed  by  the  sea,  lying  on  the  northern 
and  eastern  sides  of  the  said  Burse  and  enclosure,  to  be  extended 
and  enlarged  by  them,  with  fences,  or  otherwise,  at  their  pleasure, 
as  far  within  the  flux  and  reflux  of  the  sea,  as  may  be  gained  and 
converted  into  dry  land.  The  which  bounds  lies  and  extends  be- 
tween the  common  passage,  leading  botli  eastward  and  westward, 
to  and  from  the  said  shore  of  Leith  and  our  messuage  aforesaid, 
called  the  King's  Work  on  the  south,  and  the  said  seas,  as  far  as 
may  be  drained  and  held,  on  the  north ;  the  sandy  place  and  lands, 
denominated  Little  London,  belonging  to  the  aforesaid  town  of 
Edinburgh,  having  the  lands  and  garden  of  Thomas  Fisher,  the 
late  Thomas  Aikenhead  and  others,  on  the  east,  and  the  said  har- 
bour of  Leith,  the  eastern  bulwark,  river  of  Leith  and  the  sea  on 
the  western  parts. 

Likewise  all  the  grounds  and  lands  of  the  western  bulwark  of 
the  said  harbour,  situate  on  the  western  side  of  the  said  river  and 
harbour  of  Leith ;  together  with  the  waste  ground,  sea  and  sands 
about  said  western  bulwark,  as  far  as  the  sea  flows  at  a  spring  tide, 
with  the  several  bounds  and  grounds  on  both  sides  of  the  said 
river  and  haven  of  Leith,  to  be  thereunto  annexed. 

We  also,  with  the  advice  and  consent  aforesaid,  and  by  this  our 
present  charter,  annex,  unite,  and  incorporate  the  said  waste  ground, 


ANNALS.  76 

lands  and  sea  on  both  sides  tlie  said  river  and  harbour  of  Leith, 
with  the  bridges,  ports,  haven  and  lands  thereof,  within  the  dis- 
tricts aforesaid,  to  the  said  port  and  harbour  of  Leith»  and  to  tlie 
aforesaid  town  of  Edinburgh,  to  be  and  remain  as  proper  parts 
and  appendages  tJiereof  for  ever,  with  full  liberty  to  tlie  said  town 
of  Edinburgh  within  the  same;  with  special  power,  license  and 
liberty  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  council  and  community  of  the 
said  burgh,  and  their  successors,  to  enjoy  and  possess  the  above 
mentioned  waste  jorround,  denominated  the  Common  Closets,  and 
since  called  the  Burse,  with  the  other  lands,  sand^,  and  waste 
ground  aforesaid,  within  and  without  the  flux  and  reAuz  of  the 
sea,  on  both  sides  the  river  and  harbour  of  Leith,  or  any  part  or 
parts  thereof,  and  to  raise  dykes  and  fences,  to  exclude  the  sea, 
and  thereon  to  erect  bulwarks,  ramparts,  walls,  and  fortresses,  one 
or  more ;  and  on  the  ground  gained  or  to  be  gained  from  the  sea, 
witliin  the  bounds  aforesaid,  to  erect  and  build  houses,  fortalices, 
halls,  market-places  and  enclosures,  or  conservatories  for  wood  or 
other  merchandise,  with  granaries  and  other  buildings  for  the  re- 
ception of  all  sorts  of  timber  and  merchandise  arriving  at  the 
aforesaid  port  and  harbour  of  Leith,  with  power  to  stop,  forbid 
and  discharge. 

We  also,  by  this  our  present  charter,  for  us  and  our  suooeasors, 
strictly  forbid  and  discharge  the  housing  and  keeping  the  said 
foreign  merchandise  and  timber  withip  any  house,  cellars,  closets, 
lofts  or  yards,  within  any  part  or  place  of  the  said  town  of 
Leith,  whether  regality  or  royalty,  or  within  our  messuage  afore- 
said, called  the  King's  Work,  or  in  any  other  part  thereof,  in  all 
times  coming,  other  than  witliin  the  bounds  aforesaid,  under  the 
pain  of  escheat,  or  the  value  thereof,  to  the  use  of  the  said  town 
of  Edinburgh:  And  for  the  better  enabling  them  to  receive  the 
said  escheats,  or  value  tliereof,  we,  by  this  our  present  charter, 
constitute  and  appoint  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  and  their  suc- 
cessors, conjunctly  and  severally,  judges  of  the  same ;  and  for  de- 
fraying tlie  expenses  made  and  to  be  made,  in  gaining  the  said 
ground,  and  making  and  upholding  the  said  works,  and  increase 
of  the  revenues  of  the  aforesaid  town ;  we  hereby  grant  them  full 
power  to  make  and  appoint  certain  rates  or  duties  to  be  taken 
daily,  weekly,  monthly,  or  termly,  for  the  lying  and  keeping  of 
the  several  sorts  of  merchandise  and  timber  within  the  said  en- 
closure or  houses;  and  if  occasion  be,  to  arrest,  seise  and  distrain 
for  non-payment  of  the  said  rates;  and  to  set  or  let  the  said 
bounds,  or  any  part  thereof,  to  any  person  or  persons,  and  to  build 
houses,  granaries,  cellars,  offices,  and  other  conveniences  thereon, 
as  shall  be  judged  necessary  for  the  benefit  of  the  said  town ;  and 
to  have,  enjoy  and  exercise  all  the  liberties  and  privileges  of  a 
royal  free  burgh,  i^-ithin  the  several  districts  aforesaid,  as  freely  as 
they  have,  or  may  have  within  the  said  port  of  Leith  or  town  of 
Edinburgh,  or  in  any  part  or  appurtenance  thereof,  annexed  or 
incorporated  therein th  in  manner  aforesaid. 


76  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

And  also  to  enlarge  and  extend  the  said  port,  pier,  shore  and 
haven  of  Leith  towards  the  sea,  with  the  bulwarks  on  both  sides 
the  river,  and  to  build,  strengthen  and  fortify  the  same  in  & 
substantial  manner,  both  for  duration  and  the  safety  of  ships, 
crears,  boats  and  other  vessels  with  their  (roods  and  merchandise 
arriving  in  the  said  port  both  in  peace  and  war. 

And  likewise  the  two  pieces  of  land  adjoining,  with  the  houses 
thereon  appertaining  to,  and  possessed  by  the  said  Provost, 
Baili£&  and  Council,  one  of  which  belonged  to  the  late  Cock- 

bume,  contains  in  breadth  from  east  to  west  fifty-one  ells,  and  in 
length  fh>m  south  to  north  sixty-three  ells^  with  the  mount  called 
the  Fort,  and  houses  thereon  denominated  Little  London,  lying  oq 
the  eastern  side  of  Leith,  in  the  barony  of  Lestalrig  and  sheriff- 
wick of  Edinburgh,  between  the  highway  leading  from  the  Canon- 
gate  to  the  town  and  pier  of  Leith  on  the  west ;  the  Coney  War- 
ren, commonly  called  the  Links,  on  the  eastern  and  northern 
parts;  and  the  lands  of  the  late  John  Creich  on  the  south,  and 
che  other  part  or  piece  of  the  said  lands,  lying  on  the  southern 
side  of  the  said  Cockburne's  lands,  contains  in  breadth  and 

length  as  aforesaid,  and  sometime  belonging  to  the  said  lace  John 
Creich,  lying  on  the  eastern  side  of  Leith,  in  the  barony  aforesaid^ 
between  the  lands  of  the  said  Cockbume  on  the  north,  the 

said  Coney  Warren,  commonly  called  the  Links,  on  the  east  and 
south,  and  the  aibresaid  highway  on  the  western  part. 

And  likewise  all  that  space  or  spot  of  ground,  granted  to  the 
aforesaid  town  of  Edinburgh  by  the  late  Robert  Logane  of  Les- 
talrig, in  the  month  of  February,  anno  1413,  lying  in  the  said 
town  of  Leith,  between  the  lands  lately  in  possession  of  John 
Pittendreich,  on  the  one  part,  and  the  wall  newly  built  on  the 
bank  of  the  river  of  Leith,  on  the  other  part,  to  be  and  remain 
for  ever  a  free  quay  or  landing  place,  for  the  use  of  the  said  town 
of  Edinburgh  and  community  thereof,  for  laying  goods  and  uier- 
chandise,  and  carrying  them  thereon  to  and  ^om  the  sea;  for 
which  use  it  shall  continue  void,  and  nothing  to  be  built  thereon, 
to  the  hurt  or  prejudice  of  the  said  town,  whereby  the  Burgesses 
and  community  may  suffer  damage  or  inconvenience  any  manner 
of  way :  And  also  all  that  space  or  piece  of  ground,  lying  within 
the  said  town  of  Leith,  containing  at  least  twelve  feet  in  breadth, 
and  in  length,  extending  from  the  common  road,  lying  before  the 
tenement  of  the  late  Maurice  Taylor,  now  appertaining  to 
on  the  south,  the  said  river  of  Leith  on  the  north ;  and  between 
our  aforesaid  tenement  on  the  east,  and  the  lands  of  the  late  David 
Dun  and  John   Davidson,  at  present  belonging  to  on 

the  west,  to  serve  as  a  common  way  or  street,  for  the  use  of  the 
said  Provost,  Bailiiis,  Council,  Burgesses  and  community  of  the 
said  town  of  Edinburgh,  and  their  successors,  and  all  others  our 
subjects. 
.  And  for  the  more  commodious  passage  to  and  from  the  aforesaid 


ANNALS.  77 

port  of  Leith,  and  to  and  from  the  grounds  and  lands  aforesaid, 
and  passages  leading  to  and  from  the  same,  we  give  and  grant, 
and  by  this  our  present  charter,  give  and  grant  to  the  aforesaid 
Provost,  Baillffk,  Council,  and  oommunicy  of  the  aforesaid  town 
of  Edinburgh,  and  their  suooessors,  all  the  several  ways,  roads, 
and  passages  within  the  knds  and  barony  of  Lestalrig,  and  the 
said  town  of  Leith,  extending  to  the  port  or  haven  thereof, 
with  all  other  ways,  places  and  passages  leading  to  and  from 
the  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  and  to  and  from  the  aforesaid 
port  of  Leith;  with  full  power,  liberty,  and  license  oooasionally 
to  make  axtd  erect  other  ways  and  passages  in  and  through  the 
said  barony  of  Lestalrig,  and  town  of  Leith,  to  the  port  and 
harbour  of  the  same;  with  full  power,  liberty,  and  license  to  them, 
their  agents,  and  servants,  in  their  names,  to  carry  all  their  goods, 
and  merchandise,  of  what  kind  soever,  upon  horses,  carts,  sleds, 
or  other  carriages  to  and  from  the  said  port  or  harbour  of  Leitli, 
to  whatsoever  place  or  places  tliey  please,  in,  through,  and  by  the 
knds  of  the  said  barony  of  Lestalrig,  and  town  of  Leith,  to  lay 
tl>e  same  thereon,  remove  and  carry  Uiem  tlierefrom,  lade  and  un- 
lade the  same  in  and  from  any  ship  or  vessel;  and  cart,  and  deoart 
the  same  at  their  pleasure,  without  stop,  let,  or  impediment, 
whatever :  With  full  power,  liberty,  and  license  to  them,  to  build 
one  or  more  bridges  on  the  aforesaid  river  of  Leitli,  and  within  and 
upon  the  aforesaid  lands  and  barony  of  Lestalrig,  in  whatever 
place  they  shall  judge  necessary  to  erect  and  build  the  same; 
with  power  to  dig  and  carry  away  from  within  the  aforesaid 
barony  of  Lestalrig,  such  quantities  of  earth,  gravel,  sand,  and 
stones,  as  may  be  found  lying  on  the  banks,  and  in -the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  said  river  of  Leith,  towards  building  and  enlarg- 
ing the  said  bridge  or  bridges,  and  the  said  port  or  harbour  of 
Leith :  With  full  power  and  liberty  to  them  and  others  coming  to, 
and  departing  from  the  said  port  of  Leith  with  their  ships  and 
other  vessels,  to  fix,  Isy,  and  fasten  their  anchors,  cables,  and 
ropes,  without  the  port  or  haven  of  Leith,  on  the  aforesaid  lands 
or  sands  of  Leith  and  Lestalrig  as  they  shall  have  occasion. 

Also,  we  long  after  our  perfect  age,  by  the  advice  aforesaid, 
have  let,  and  in  fee-farm  demised,  and  for  us  and  successors, 
by  this  our  present  cliarter,  have  of  new  given  and  granted,  and 
in  fee-farm  hereditarily  confirmed  to  the  aforesaid  Provost,  Bailifi's, 
Council,  Burgesses,  and  communit^'  of  the  said  town  of  Edinburgh, 
and  their  successors  for  ever,  all  the  new  port,  called  the  Haven 
Harbour,  and  port  of  Newhaven,  with  the  Coney  Warren,  commonly 
called  the  Links;  houses,  buildings,  lands,  and  their  appur- 
tenances on  the  sea-coast,  or  southern  side  of  the  frith  of  Forth, 
iroiD  St.  Nicholas's  chapel,  on  the  northern  side  of  the  town  of 
North  Leith,  to  the  land  denominated  Weirdiebrow;  and  in 
length  to  the  arable  lands  of  as  the  said  Provobt,  Bailiffs, 

Council,  and  their  predecessors  have,  or  may  possess.     Together 


78  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

with  the  several  privileges,  port-money,  commoaly  called  haveu 
and  shore-silver,  anchorage,  dock-silver,  golden-penny,  imposts, 
customs,  taxes,  exactions,  rents,  mails,  farms,  duties  and  casualties 
of  the  same,  to  be  applied  to  them  and  their  aforesaid  port  of 
Leith;  with  free  passage  to  and  from  the  said  town  of  Edinburgh 
to  the  said  Newhaven,  Links,  lands,  and  bounds  thereof;  by  the 
several  ways,  roads,  and  passages  leading  thereto,  for  men,  horses, 
carts,  sleds,  and  other  carriages,  with  such  goods  and  merchandise 
as  shall  be  loaded  or  unloaded  at  the  said  [>ort  of  Newhaven ;  the 
said  ways  and  roads  to  be  of  such  length  and  breadth  as  shall  be 
judged  necessary :  With  full  power,  liberty,  and  space  to  repair 
and  enlarge  the  pier  and  bulwark  of  the  said  port  or  haven ;  and 
the  goods  or  merchandise,  laden  or  unladen,  in  or  from  ships, 
barks,  crears,  or  boats  in  the  said  port,  to  put  them  on  shore,  and 
lay  them  on  land ;  and  to  fix  or  place  their  anchors,  cables,  and 
other  fastenings  on  the  sea-coast,  from  the  high- water  mark  in  the 
said  port  and  Links,  to  the  fronts  of  the  houses  of  the  southern 
row,  standing  on  the  southern  part  of  the  passage  of  the  said  town 
of  Newhaven,  and  in  length  to  the  bosom  of  the  same;  with  all 
other  privileges  of  the  aforesaid  port  of  Newhaven,  in  all  things 
as  amply,  fully,  and  freely  as  they  at  present  are  or  were  hereto- 
fore enfeofft,  and  have  or  may  possess  in  their  said  port  of  Leith, 
with  the  customs,  liberties,  and  appurtenances  above  specified. 

And  that  the  said  Provost,  Bailifis,  Council  and  community  of 
the  said  town  of  Edinbu^h,  and  their  successors,  may  the  more 
peacefully  and  commodiously  possess  and  enjoy  the  above  named 
port,  haven,  harbour,  raids,  pier,  shore,  bulwarks,  ways,  streets, 
paths,  passages,  lands,  liberties,  customs,  casualties,  and  other 
things  above  mentioned;  we,  with  the  advice  and  consent  afore* 
said,  make,  create  and  constitute,  and  by  this  our  present  charter 
for  us  and  our  successors,  make,  create,  and  constitute  the  aforesaid 
Provost  and  Bailifis  of  the  said  burgh,  or  any  of  them,  and  their 
successors,  judges  of  all  persons  who  shall  contravene  or  violate  any 
part  or  point  of  their  aforesaid  liberty  and  privileges  within  the  said 
bounds,  or  to  molest,  trouble  or  disquiet  them  in  the  peaceable  pos- 
session, enjoyment  or  use  of  the  same:  And  also  to  be  judges  com- 
petent in  ail  questions,  controversies,  debates,  complaints  and  actions, 
as  well  criminal  as  civil,  which  may  arise  between  party  and  party, 
upon  any  deed,  verbal  promise,  or  by  writ,  bond,  contract  or  obli- 
gation, made  or  contained  within  the  said  bounds,  ports,  harbours, 
havens,  raids,  piers,  shores,  bulwarks,  ways,  streets,  paths  and 
passages  aforesaid,  or  that  which  is  to  be  done  and  performed 
within  the  same,  as  a  place  destinate  thereto :  And  likewise  to  be 
judges  in  all  crimes  and  transgressions,  both  criminal  and  civil, 
that  shall  happen  to  be  committed  within  the  aforesaid  lands, 
ports,  waters  and  passages;  with  power  to  search,  apprehend,  take 
and  imprison  ail  persons,  contravene rs  of  the  aforesaid  privileges, 
and  all  persons  convened  by  their  creditors,  and  those  guilty  of 


AKNALS.  79 

offeDoes,  whether  civil  or  mmiDaly  irithin  the  bounds  aforeudd; 
to  call,  prosecute,  sit,  judge,  determine  and  execute  their  respeo- 
tive  sentences  thereon ;  and  for  that  end,  to  hold  courts  in  any 
part  or  place  within  the  said  lands,  bounds,  waters,  seas,  and  pas- 
sages, or  within  the  aforesaid  town,  at  their  pleasure;  and  the 
fines,  escheats,  penalties  and  unerciaments  received,  be  applied  to 
the  use  of  the  said  town;  and  if  it  shall  be  found  necessary  to  a]>- 
point  one  or  more  persons  under  them  during  pleasure,  they  shall 
be  answerable  for  the  behaviour  of  the  said  persons. 

And  we,  long  after  our  perfect  age,  by  the  advice  and  consent 
aforesaid,  have  of  new  given,  granted,  and  confirmed ;  and  by  this 
our  present  ciiartor,  for  us  and  our  successors,  gives,  grants,  and 
dispones,  and  for  ever  confirms  to  the  said  Provost,  BaUifis,  Coun* 
cil.  Burgesses  and  communit}',  and  their  successors,  the  offices  of 
sheriff  and  coroner  within  the  said  town ;  together  with  the  com- 
mon mills,  common  moor,  common  myi*e,  lakes,  banks,  ways, 
cross-ways,  streets  and  passages,  leading  to  and  from  the  said 
towB  of  Edinburgh,  and  within  the  aforesaid  ports  and  harbours 
of  Leith  and  Kewhaven,  with  the  piers,  shores,  raids  and  bulwarks 
thereof;  and  within  the  lands  called  the  Common  Closets,  Burse, 
holf,  halls,  ways,  cross- ways,  passages,  lands,  and  other  tilings 
above  mentioned,  with  all  the  rig)it£,  liberties  and  privileges  be- 
longing to  the  said  offices,  according  to  the  laws  and  customs  of 
our  kingdom,  making,  creating,  and  constituting  the  Provost  of 
the  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  elected  or  to  be  elected  yearly,  per* 
petual  sherifi'  and  principal  coroner  of  the  same;  and  the  Bailifis 
of  the  said  burgh,  elected,  or  to  be  elected  yearly,  sheriff's  and 
coroner's  deputies  to  serve  conjunctly  and  severally  under  him; 
with  power  to  them  and  tlieir  deputies  to  hold  a  court  or  courts, 
both  civil  and  criminal,  within  the  aforesaid  towD-mills,  mill- lands, 
moors,  marshes,  ways,  raids,  cross- ways,  passages,  ports,  havens 
and  lands  aforesaid,  and  hberties  thereof,  and  within  the  aforesaid 
ports,  ways  and  passages,  Lc,  above  mentioned,  and  within  any 
part  of  their  respective  bounds,  as  well  upon  as  against  their 
neighbours,  and  upon  the  Burgesses  and  inhabitants  within  the 
aforesaid  bounds,  as  upon  and  against  all  other  persons  that  shall 
happen  to  be  attacked  for  any  promise,  deed,  debt,  cause,  crime  or 
ofl'ence,  either  civil  or  criminal,  made,  contracted  or  done  within 
tlie  said  town  or  bounds  aforesaid  or  any  part  thereof,  as  often  as 
tbey  shall  see  necessary :  And  the  said  office  of  sherifialty  to  use, 
exert,  and  enforce  against  all  causes,  actions,  transgressions,  crime 
or  crimes,  that  shall  happen  to  be  perpetrated  in,  upon  and  against 
all  persons,  who  shall  be  arrested  or  apprehended  within  the 
aforesaid  town,  mill- lands,  piers,  shores,  ]iassages  and  places  there- 
unto belonging,  as 'above  specified;  to  administer  justice  in  the 
sherifi''s  court,  to  qdl,  assemble  and  convene  absents,  to  punish 
ufieuders  or  criminals  by  death,  banishment,  or  other  punishment, 
according  to  their  several  transgressions  and  tlje  laws  of  our  king- 


80  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

dom;  and  the  members  or  ministers  of  the  said,  sheriff's  court  to 
be  choeen  out  of  the  Burgesses  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh 
only,  and  not  from  amongst  the  people  inhabiting  without  the 
aforesaid  town ;  and  to  use  and  exercise  all  other  things  within 
themselves,  and  within  our  said  town,  liberties,  bounds  and  juris- 
diction of  the  same,  and  within  the  other  bounds,  lands,  ports, 
ways,  cross-ways,  roads,  passages,  waters,  seas  and  sandy  grounds, 
commonly  called  the  Sands,  and  others  above  mentioned,  which 
to  the  offices  of  sheriff  and  coroner  belong,  according  to  the  laws 
and  customs  of  the  Idngdom,  to  be  enjoyed  by  them,  in  and  by 
all  things,  as  fully  and  freely,  83  any  other  sheriff  or  coroner  of 
the  kingdom  doth  use  and  exercise  the  said  offices,  freely,  quietly, 
honourably,  well  and  peaceably,  without  impediment,  revocation 
or  contradiction  whatsoever. 

And  for  the  better  using  and  exercising  of  the  said  office  of 
sheriffalty,  we,  with  the  advice  aforesaid,  of  new  give,  grant,  dis- 
pone, and  perpetually  confirm,  and  by  this  our  present  charter  for 
us  and  our  successors,  have  given,  granted,  and  perpetually  con- 
firmed to  the  aforesaid  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council,  Burgesses,  and 
community  of  the  said  town,  and  their  successors,  the  escheat  of  all 
goods,  debts,  contracts,  obligations,  sums  of  money,  and  other  goods 
and  moveables  belonging  to  the  Burgesses  or  inhabitants  of  the  said 
town,  within  the  respective  lands  and  bounds  thereunto  appertain- 
ing; and  in  all  other  parts,  whether  within  or  without  the  kingdom, 
wherever  they  shall  be  called  pr  convened  before  the  said  sheriff  or 
his  deputies,  or  any  other  judjore  or  judges  within  the  kingdom,  for 
any  offence  or  crime  committed  by  them  within  the  said  town,  or 
within  or  without  the  bounds  thereof;  and  all  other  persons  what- 
soever or  wheresoever,  that  shall  be  convicted  before  the  said 
sheriff,  his  deputies,  or  other  judges  withm  this  kingdom,  for  any 
offence  or  transgression  committed  within  the  said  town,  or  within 
the  lands  and  bounds  aforesaid,  the  escheat  of  as  much  of  their 
effects,  debts,  contracts,  obligations,  and  other  moveables,  that 
may  be  found  or  seized  within  the  said  town,  or  within  the  lands 
or  bounds  above  mentioned,  or  appendage  thereunto  annexed, 
together  with  all  the  other  escheats,  penalties,  fines,  amerciaments, 
exactions  and  commodities,  with  their  appurtenances,  that  shall 
fall  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  said  sheriff  or  coroner,  within 
the  said  town  and  liberties  thereof,  ports,  lands,  bounds,  ways, 
roads,  passages  and  places  above  specified :  And  all  and  singular 
the  said  escheats,  penalties,  fioes,  amerciaments,  casualties  and 
commodities,  with  their  appurtenances,  to  be  disposed  of  and  ap- 
plied to  the  use  and  advantage  of  our  said  town  for  ever. 

Moreover,  we,  with  the  advice  and  consent  aforesaid,  of  our 
certain  knowledge  and  mere  motion,  have  united,  annexed  and  in- 
corporated, and,  by  this  our  present  charter,  for  nis  and  our  suc- 
cessors, unite,  annex,  and  incorporate  to  and  with  the  said  town 
of  Edinburgh,  the  several  estates,  liberties  and  privileges  aforesaid ; 


ANKAL6.  81 

and  also  give  and  grant,  all  and  aingular,  the  aforesaid  oominon 
moor,  myre,  lakes,  banks,  lands,  ports  and  harbours  of  Leith  and 
Newfaaveu,  roads,  stations  and  forts,  called  the  roads,  piers,  shores 
and  bulwarks,  bounds,  ways,  cross-ways,  streets  and  passages,  with 
full  power  and  free  jurisdiction  therein. 

And  likewise  the  hereditary  offices  of  sberiflhlty  and  coroner, 
with  their  respective  jurisdictions  within  the  bounds  and  limits 
aforesaid;  together  with  all  escheats,  i&nes,  penalties,  imposts, 
taxations,  exactions,  and  other  things,  as  particularly  and  gener- 
ally above  specified ;  with  the  above  mentioned  superiority,  liberty 
and  jurisdiction  of  Leith,  tenants,  tenancies,  and  services  of  free 
tenants,  with  their  appurtoianoes:  And  also  all  and  singular  the 
aforesaid  church-lands,  annuities,  tithes  and  other  revenues,  in  and 
about  the  said  town,  as  already  mentioned;  together  with  the 
provostry  and  prebends  of  the  aforesaid  college  of  the  Trinity 
and  hospital  thereuuto  belonging;  with  the  arahdeaoonry  of  Lo- 
thian, and  parsonage  and  vicarage  of  Curry,  with  the  tithes  and 
duties  thereof,  with  the  college  l^ly  founded  within  the  aforesaid 
town,  with  all  the  church-lands,  tithes  and  revenues,  with  th«r 
appurtenances,  into  a  royal  free  burgh,  with  tenants  and  tenancies. 

And  we  will  and  grant,  and  for  us  and  our  successors  perpetu- 
ally appoint  and  origin,  that  the  said  Provost, -Bailifis,  Dean  of 
Guild^  Treasurer,  Council,  community  and  Burgesses  of  the  said 
town  of  Edinburgh,  and  their  successors,  shaU,  in  all  times  coming, 
freely,  fully  and  peaceably  enjoy  and  possess  the  said  town  of  Ed- 
inburgh, with  the  common  moor,  common  myre,  lands,  mills,  lakes, 
stanks,  braes,  ports  of  Leith  and  Kewhaven,  raids,  stations,  forts, 
piers,  shores,  bulwarks,  bounds,  ways,  streets,  passages  and  places 
aforesaid,  with  the  said  offices  of  sheriffalty  and  coroner  within  the 
bounds,  liberties  and  jurisdiction  above  mentioned;  with  all  and 
several  the  escheats,  fines,  penalties  and  amerciaments,  taxations, 
impositions,  and  things  above  specified,  with  the  superiority  and 
junsdiction  of  Leith,  as  aforesaid ;  together  with  all  the  church- 
lands,  benefices,  tithes  and  profits,  wiUi  their  appurtenances,  both 
generally  and  particularly  above  recited,  which,  for  brevity's  sake, 
is  held  as  if  here  repeated,  as  an  free  tenant  and  tenancy  in  fee- 
farm  and  free  burgage  for  ever ;  and  that  by  virtue  of  this  present 
enfeoffinent  and  sasine  given  in  manner  and  form  following;  to 
the  Provost,  or  any  one  of  the  Bailiff  of  the  aforesaid  town  of 
Edinburgh  for  the  time  being,  who  shall  stand  at  the  market-cross 
of  the  said  burgh,  where  he  shall  be  to  them  and  their  successors 
a  suffident  sasine  for  the  said  town,  and  for  the  appurtenances 
thereof  as  particularly  and  generally  above  mentioned,  now  an- 
nexed and  united  thereto,  as  above  specified ;  notwithstanding  of 
the  disoontiguity  of  the  aforesaid  town,  lands,  ports,  ways,  streets, 
passages,  customs,  liberties,  privileges,  jurisdictions,  tithes,  rev- 
enues, and  other  things  thereunto  belonging,  both  generally  and 
particularly  above  recited. 

F 


82  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

CoQoeming  whiofa^  we,  for  us  aod  our  suocesson,  have  dis- 
pensed, and  by  this  our  present  charter  disp^iseth;  and  we  con- 
sidering, that  the  said  Proroet,  Bailiff,  Goundl  and  community  of 
the  said  burgh,  is  a  body  or  community,  though  without  a  parti- 
cular succession,  yet  have  perpetual  succession;  We  therefore  de- 
clare, will  and  grant,  and  for  us  and  our  successors  appoint  and 
ordain,  that  the  aforesaid  saaine  or  possession  being  once  taken, 
by  virtue  of  this  our  new  charter  of  enfeofflnent,  by  the  Provost 
or  one  of  the  Bailiffi  of  the  said  town,  in  the  name  and  behalf  of 
the  Bui^esses  and  community,  and  their  successors,  by  delivering 
earth  and  stones  for  the  aforesaid  town,  lands  and  mills,  with  their 
appurtenances;  and  by  delivering  a  golden-penny  for  the  rents, 
duties,  customs  and  things  thereon  depending;  and  by  delivering 
of  a  baton  for  the  offices  and  jurisdictions  aibresaid,  with  the  su- 
periority of  the  town  of  Leith  and  their  dependencies ;  and  by 
delivering  a  Psalm-book  for  the  aforesaid  benefices,  church-tithes, 
revenues  and  other  things,  with  their  appurtenances;  shall  for 
ever  stand,  and  be  good  and  effectual,  without  renovation,  reitera- 
tion^ or  recovering  a  new  sasine  thereafter;  to  have  and  to  hold 
the  aforesaid  town  of  Edinburgh,  with  all  its  gates,  walls,  ditches, 
ways,  streets,  passagee,  causeways,  lands,  territories  and  commu- 
nity thereof;  with  all  and  singular  the  liberties,  privileges  and  im- 
munities, which  by  the  laws  and  customs  of  this  kingdom  apper- 
tains, or  may  belong  to  any  royal  free  burgh ;  and  particularly 
with  the  liberty  and  trade  of  merchandise,  in  buying  and  selling, 
not  only  within  the  said  town  and  liberties  thereof,  but  within  the 
several  bounds  of  our  sheriffwick  of  Edinburgh,  whether  regality 
or  royalty,  in  as  ample  and  full  a  manner  as  is  above  mentioned; 
together  with  the  aforesaid  privilege  of  a  merchant-guUdry,  com- 
monly called  merchant-guildries,  jurisdictions,  liberties,  fines,  pen- 
alties, escheats  and  amerciaments  thereunto  belonging;  with  all 
and  singular  the  aforesaid  fairs,  and  weekly  markets,  customs, 
privileges  and  profits,  which  by  the  laws  of  this  kingdom  has  or 
may  belong;  with  full  power,  commission  and  authority  to  make 
acts,  statutes  and  ordinances  for  the  good  government  of  the  said 
town;  to  put  the  same  in  execution;  and  to  arrest  and  prosecute 
the  contraveners  thereof. 

And  also  the  aforesaid  full  power  and  jurisdiction,  granted  to 
the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council  and  community  of  the  said  town 
and  their  successors,  to  sit,  judge  and  determine  in  all  matters  and 
causes,  both  civil  and  criminal,  concerning  the  liberty  and  pri- 
vilege granted  to  them  by  acts  of  our  parliament,  general  councils, 
constitutions  of  boroughs,  acts,  sentences  and  decrees  given  in 
favour  of  the  said  liberties,  and  to  put  the  said  acts  and  decrees 
in  execution;  and  the  several  sums  of  money  arising  thereby,  to 
be  received,  applied,  and  disposed  of  by  them,  as  aforesaid;  to- 
gether with  all  and  singular  the  above  mentioned  common  lands 
of  the  said  burgh,  called  the  common  moor  and  common  myre,  as 


ANNALS.  83 

well  arable  as  nnarable;  the  aforesaid  south  loch  called  the  Bor- 
ough Loch,  with  the  grounds,  lands,  myres  and  marshes  thereof, 
with  the  northern  lake  of  our  said  town  called  the  Nordloch,  with 
the  grounds,  lands,  myres  and  marshes  thereunto  belonging;  with 
the  banks  and  braes,  both  southern  and  northern,  on  both  sides 
the  Castle  of  Edinburgh,  extending  from  the  street  to  that  part 
of  the  burgh  called  under  the  CastTe  wall,  and  running  nortli- 
wards  to  tlie  top  of  the  hill;  thence  descends  and  joins  the  said 
Nordloch.  Also  all  and  sundry  the  twelve  common  mills  of  tlie 
said  burgh,  as  they  are  at  present  situated  on  both  sides  the 
river  of  Leith,  witib  all  the  mill-lands,  water-courses,  and  their 
appurtenances,  bridges,  banks,  acres,  houses,  ways,  streets  and 
passages,  leading  to  and  from  the  ^d  mills,  multures,  suckens  and 
knaveships,  with  their  sequels;  with  a  power  (if  it  shall  be  judged 
necessary)  to  erect  more  bridges  and  mills  on  either  side  of  the 
said  river  of  Leiih,  in  such  place  or  places,  as  shall  be  deemed 
most  proper;  all  the  aforesaid  low  lands  or  vale,  lying  between 
the  Craigend  gate  and  the  way  leading  to  Leith,  with  the  banks 
or  braes  thereof,  with  the  lands  of  the  Oreenside  adjacent,  and 
the  Leper's  hospital  and  gardens,  with  the  banks,  braes  ami 
marshes,  with  their  appurtenances. 

And  all  and  singular  the  customs  of  the  said  town,  both  within 
and  without  the  gates,  in  the  streets  and  markets,  and  market- 
plaoe,  called  the  House  of  the  Moor,  with  the  weighage  and 
metage  within  the  said  town,  rents  of  stands  in  the  several 
markets,  sherifr*s  gloves,  duties  and  exactions  whatsoever  in  and 
about  the  said  town,  with  power  and  liberty  to  make  a  table 
in  manner  aforesaid:  And  likewise  all  the  aforesaid  port,  haxeu 
and  harbour  of  Leith,  with  the  raid,  piers,  shores  and  bulwarks 
on  both  sides  the  river  of  Leith  at  its  influx  to  the  sea,  together 
with  all  the  ways,  cross-ways,  raids  and  passages,  leading  to  and 
from  the  same  on  both  sides  the  said  port  and  river  of  Leith ;  and 
all  the  liberties,  immunities  and  privileges  belonging  to  the  pre- 
mises; and  in  particular,  all  and  singular  the  aforesaid  privileges, 
customs,  port-money,  anchorage,  dock-silver,  golden-penny,  taxa- 
tions, exactions,  duties,  revenues  and  casualties  of  tlie  said  port, 
raid  and  town  of  Leith ;  with  the  above  mentioned  table,  heads, 
clauses  and  conditions  of  the  same,  with  the  other  clauses  afore- 
said; with  power  and  liberty  to  receive  the  several  customs,  im- 
posts and  taxations,  both  particular  and  general,  as  above  specified. 

And  also  all  the  lands  and  grounds  formerly  called  the  Common 
Cloeets,  but  lately  denominated  the  Burse,  with  the  aforesaid  en- 
closure of  timber,  and  the  waste  grounds  and  band,  commonly 
called  the  Waste  Grounds  and  Snnds,  to  be  extended  as  aforesaid : 
and  the  said  western  bulwark,  with  the  waste  grounds,  sea  and 
sands  about  the  same,  annexed  to  the  said  port  of  Leith  and 
aforesaid  town  of  Edinburgh ;  with  the  power  of  extending,  build- 
ing, enlarging  and  damming  in  manner  aforesaid:  together  with 


J 


84  mSTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

the  above  mentioned  privilege,  duties,  rents  and  liberties  witliin 

the  aforesaid  Burse,  encio8ure»  grounds,  lands  and  sands,  and  bul* 

warks  particularly  above  mentioned.     Likewise  all  and  singular 

the  aforesaid  two  pieces  of  land,  adjoining  formerly  and  belonging 

to  the  late  Cockbume,  and  to  Creich,  founded 

and  bounded  as  above  specified;  and  all  and  singxdar  that  other 

spot  of  ground*  belonging  to  the  said  burgh,  by  dispoeition  of  the 

said  late  Robert  Logan  of  Lestalrig,  with  Uie  other  piece  of  ground, 

containing  twelve  feet  in  breadth,  also  in  the  said  town  of  Leitfa. 

And  likewise,  all  and  sundry  the  aforesaid  ways,  cross-ways,  roads 

and  passages,  in,  by,  and  through  the  lands  and  barony  of  Lest- 

alrig,  extending  to  the  said  town  and  port  of  Leith,  with  the 

aforesaid  liberty  of  making  new  ways,  roads  and  passages,  in,  by, 

and  through  the  said  barony  of  Lestalrig  and  town  of  Leith,  for 

the  convenience  of  carrying  their  goods  and  merchandise  by  men, 

horses,  carts,  or  other  carriages,  to  and  from  the  said  port  of  Leith, 

to  such  place  or  places,  as  the  said  Provost,  Bailifis,  Council  and 

inhabitants,  present  and  to  come,  shall  please,  in,  by,  and  through 

the  said  lands  of  Lestalrig  and  town  of  Leith;  and  to  lay,  remove, 

carry,  lade  and  unlade  the  same;  to  erect  bridges  over  the  said 

river  of  Leith,  and  within  the  grounds  and  lands  of  the  said 

barony  and  town ;  to  dig  and  carry  away  ground  or  earth  from 

the  said  barony,  with  the  gravel  and  stones  lying  on  the  banks, 

sides,  and  near  the  said  river  of  Leith ;  to  lay  anchors,  and  fast^k 

cables  and  other  ropes  without  the  said  port  of  Leith. 

And  all  and  singular  the  aforesaid  new  port  and  raid  of  New* 
liaven,  with  the  lands,  coney-warren,  or  links,  houses,  buildings, 
and  their  appurtenances,  lying  as  aforesaid;  with  all  and  singular, 
the  privileges,  port-money,  anchorage,  dock-silver,  golden-penny, 
imposts,  customs,  duties,  taxes,  exactions,  rents,  farms,  and  cas- 
ualties annexed  to  the  said  port;  with  all  the  ways,  streets,  and 
passages  leading  to  and  from  the  said  new  port  or  haven,  in_  man- 
ner, and  with  the  privileges  above  specified.  Together  with  the 
several  jurisdictions,  lands,  bounds,  ports,  raids,  stations,  waters, 
grounds,  sands,  and  passages,  as  above  mentioned.  With  all  and 
singular  the  aforesaid  offices  of  sherifialty  and  coroner,  within  the 
bounds  and  limits  aforesaid;  with  all  the  privileges,  escheats,  fines, 
penalties,  amerciaments,  feus,  and  duties,  both  general  and  parti- 
cular, as  above  specified. 

And  Ukewise  the  superiority  of  the  aforesaid  town  of  Leith, 
with  tenants,  and  tenancies,  and  services  of  free  tenants,  with  their 
appurtenances.  Also,  all  and  singular,  the  aforesaid  lands,  tene* 
ments,  houses,  buildings,  churches,  chapels,  gardens,  fields,  an« 
nual-rents,  fruits,  duties,  profits,  emoluments,  farms,  alms,  deal* 
silver,  obits,  and  anniversaries,  which  belonged  to  whatsoever 
chapelries,  altarages,  or  prebends,  founded  in  whatsoever  churches, 
chapels,  or  colleges,  within  the  liberty  of  our  said  town. 
And  all  and  sipgular  the  aforesaid  lands  which  appertained  to 


ANNALa  85 

the  above  mentioiied  Black  and  Grey  friars  of  the  said  town,  with 
their  apportenaDoes.  •  Also  all  the  aforesaid  benefice  and  provostry 
of  the  coUeg^te  church  of  the  Trinity,  prebends  and  chapehritis 
thereof;  witii  all  and  singular  the  church-lands,  tithes,  and  other 
things  thereunto  belonging;  together  with  the  parish*churches  of 
Sowtrj  and  Limpitlaw,  with  the  tithes,  and  revenues  thereof, 
whidi  were  formerly  annexed  to  the  said  provostry;  with  the 
aforesaid  Trinity  coll^pe  cemetery,  mansion-house,  and  garden  of 
the  same;  with  the  hospital  of  the  said  Trinity  oollege,  and  gar- 
den, with  their  appurtenances.  With  all  and  singular  the  afore- 
said arch-deaoonry  of  Lothian,  and  parsonage  and  vicarage  of 
Curry,  with  the  tithes,  fruits,  rents,  parsonage,  house,  glebe,  and 
church-lands  belonging  to  the  same. 

And  likewise  all  the  aforesaid  tithe-sheaves  of  the  lands  above 
mentioned,  lying  within  the  aforesaid  parish  of  Crail,  and  annexed 
to  the  said  new  college,  founded  wjthin  the  sud  town  of  Edinburgh, 
with  their  appurtenances  as  aforesaid,  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailiff, 
Dean  of  Guild,  Treasurer,  Council,  Burgesses,  and  community  of 
the  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  and  their  successors,  of  us  and  our 
successors,  in  free  heritage^  free  burgage,  and  offices  of  sherif!, 
jttsticiar}^  and  coroner  for  ever  wiUiin  the  bounds  aforesaid,  by  all 
the  rights,  marches,  and  ancient  divisions,  as  they  lie  both  in 
length  and  breadth;  with  all  the  houses,  buildings,  gardens, 
stanks,  plains,  moors,  marshes,  ways,  cross- ways,  pools,  rivulets, 
meadows,  pastures,  mills,  and  multures,  witli  their  sequels;  hunt- 
ings, fowlings,  fishings,  coals,  collieries,  coney- warrens,  doves, 
dove-cots,  peats,  turfs,  broom,  irabils,  malt-houses,  breweries, 
woods,  copses,  timber,  stones,  and  lime;  with  court^plaint,  here- 
sdds,  blood-wits,  and  women's  marks;  with  pit  and  gallows,  in- 
fangthief,  and  outfangthief,  common  pasturage,  ingress  and  re- 
gress: And  all  and  singular,  the  liberties,  profits,  and  conveniences 
to  them  belonging,  whether  named  or  un-named,  as  well  under  as 
above  the  ground,  near  to,  or  far  from  the  aforesaid  town ;  lands, 
gates,  mills,  liberties,  privileges,  casualties,  offices,  benefices,  and 
other  things  particularly  and  generally  above  specified,  to  be  held 
and  enjoyed  by  them,  as  fully,  freely,  quietly,  and  honourably,  in 
all  times  coming,  without  revocation,  contradiction,  or  molestation 
whatsoever. 

The  said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council,  Dean  of  Guild,  community, 
Burgesses  and  inhabitants  of  the  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  and 
their  successors,  to  pay  to  us  and  our  successors  yearly,  for  the 
said  town  of  Edinburgh,  together  with  aU  and  singular  its  ditches, 
gates,  ways,  streets,  cross-ways,  passages,  lands,  and  the  whole 
territory  and  the  community  thereof,  and  the  several  liberties, 
privileges  and  immunities  above  mentioned,  with  the  aforesaid 
yearly  fairs  and  weekly  markets,  customs,  privileges  and  profits  of 
the  same;  the  common  lands  of  the  said  t^^wa,  called  the  common 
moor  and  common  myre,  as  well  arable  as  unarable;  the  Inkes 


86  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

called  the  South  and  Nordloohs,  with  the  grounds,  lands  and 
marshes  thereof;  the  braes  and  rocks  on  thesouthem  and  northern 
sides  of  the  hill  of  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh,  situate,  lying  and 
bounded  as  aforesaid;  the  above  mentioned  twelve  common  mills 
of  the  said  town,  mill-lands,  aqueducts,  dams,  bridges,  braes,  acres, 
houses,  ways,  streets  and  passages  leading  to  and  from  the  same, 
with  the  aforesaid  low  land  and  vale,  between  the  Craigend  gate  and 
the  common  road  leading  to  Leith ;  the  lands  of  G-reenside,  with 
the  acres  adjoining  with  the  Leper-hospital  and  garden ;  the  afore- 
said ports  of  Leith  and  Newhaven,  with  the  piers  and  forts  thereof, 
coounonly  called  the  piers,  shores  and  bulwarks,  customs,  anchor- 
age, port-money  and  others  above  mentioned;  the  aforesaid  lands 
and  grounds,  formerly  called  the  Common  Closets,  but  lately  the 
Burse;  the  said  two  pieces  of  land,  sometime  belonging  to 
Cockburne  and  Creich,  bounded  as  aforesaid;  with  the 

other  spot  of  ground  appertaining  to  the  said  burgh,  by  disposition 
of  the  late  Bobert  Logane  of  Lestalrig,  and  their  appurtenances, 
the  sum  of  fifty-two  marks  sterling,  at  the  terms  of  Whitsunday 
and  Martinmas,  in  equal  portions,  by  the  name  of  fee-farm;  and 
for  the  administration  of  the  aforesaid  offices  of  shenff  and  coroner, 
and  jurisdictions  above  written,  with  the  burgh-service  according 
to  use  and  custom ;  and  for  the  said  superiority  of  Leith,  a  golden- 
penny  at  Whitsunday,  in  the  name  of  blanch  farm,  if  demanded : 
And  also  for  all  and  singular  the  aforesaid  church-lands,  benefices, 
tithes,  annuities  and  other  revenues,  with  their  appurtenances  to 
the  said  Provost,  Bailifis,  Council  and  community  of  the  said  town, 
and  incumbents  of  the  several  churches,  poor  of  the  said  hospitals, 
and  scholars  of  the  aforesaid  colleges  and  schools,  and  their  suc- 
cessors, they  making  daily  humble  and  devout  prayers  to  Almighty- 
God  for  the  preservation  of  us  and  our  successors,  conform  to  the 
tenor  of  former  grants  and  enfeofibients. 

In  witness  whereof,  we  have  to  this  our  present  charter  put  our 
great  seal,  in  presence  of  our  well-beloved  cousin  and  counsellor, 
John  Marquis  of  Hamilton,  Earl  of  Arran  and  Lord  Aven;  John 
Earl  of  Montrose  and  Graham,  our  chancellor;  George  Earl  of 
Marischal  and  Lord  Keith,  marshal  of  our  kingdom;  our  beloved 
and  familiar  counsellors,  James  Elphingston  of  Bamton,  our  secre- 
tary, Richard  Cockburne  junior  of  Clerkington,  our  secretary, 
knights;  Mr.  Panne  Skeyne,  register  of  our  rolls  and  clerk  of 
Council ;  John  Cockburne  of  Ormeston,  knight,  our  justice-clerk, 
and  Mr.  William  Scot  of  Elie,  director  of  our  chancery.  Given 
at  Holyrood-house  the  fifteenth  day  of  March,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord,  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  three,  and  of  our  reign  the 
thirty-first  year." 


ANNALS. 


PARTIL 

FUOM  THE  ACXXSSION  OF  CHAKLE8  L,  1825;  TO  THAT  OF 

OEOBGE  UL,  1760. 


HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 


PART  n. 

Chables  1.9  tbe  eldest  surviying  son  of  James  VI., 
was  prodaimed  King,  at  the  Cross  of  Edinburgh,  on 
tbe  last  day  of  March,  1625. 

Maitland  states  that  in  1626«8oon  after  the  accession 

lfi26 

of  Charles  L,  ^'  The  King  hatdng  resolved  to  fit  out 
certain  ships  of  war,  for  securing  the  coasts  of  the  kingdom, 
and  to  erect  forts  in  such  places  as  should  be  judged  most 
convenient:  and  for  the  accomplishing  of  which,  wrote  to 
the  convention  of  boroughs,  to  know  what  they  were  willing 
to  contribute  on  this  occasion.  The  common  council  of 
Edinburgh,  to  show  their  zeal  in  promoting  this  design,  agreed 
to  advance  their  assessment  both  ordinary  and  extraordinary, 
to  be  paid  when  his  Majesty  should  please  to  demand  it ;  and 
as  an  additional  mark  of  their  loyalty,  offered  to  contribute 
with  the  states  of  the  kingdom,  a  proportional  part  towards 
the  maintenance  of  ten  thousand  men,  and  to  assist  in  the 
erecting  of  forts,  in  such  places  in  their  neighbourhood  as 
should  be  deemed  the  most  proper;  of  which  they  having 
.acquainted  the  King,  he  sent  them  the  following  letter. 

ChablesK. 

Tnuty  and  toeU  beloved^  we  greet  you  weU. 
'  We  perceive  by  your  letter  unto  us,  how  earnestly  you 
are  affected  to  do  us  service,  in  yielding  so  willingly  to  those 


90  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

thiagSy  wbich^  for  the  public  good,  were  thought  necessary  at 
this  time;  and  as  it  is  the  more  acceptable  unto  us  that  70a 
have  done  it  freely  of  yourselves,  seeking  only  how  to  please 
us,  and  not  conforming  yourselves  to  others,  who  were  not 
so  forward  in  our  service.  So  this  which  you  have  done 
voluntarily,  shall  be  no  preparative  to  make  you  be  charged 
with  the  like  hereafter ;  but  shall  only  make  us  the  more 
ready  to  extend  our  favour  towards  you«  We  hope,  as  you 
}iave  hereby  purchased  our  good  opinion,  you  will  continue 
to  preserve  the  same,  and  especially  by  the  advancement  of 
money  at  this  time,  for  payment  of  two  ships  which  are 
already  bought;  and  that  the  same  may  be  ready  to  be  de-: 
livered  to  Sir  James  Baillie,  witli  whom  the  receiving  thereof 
is  intrusted;  for  whatever  supplies  we  are  to  have  from 
thence  at  this  time,  we  intend  only  to  dispose  thereof  for  the 
good  and  safety  of  that  our  kingdom  which  shall  be  our  chief 
care;  and  so  bid  you  heartily  farewell.' 
WHrrsHALL,  2d  June,  1626. 

A  subsidy  ibr  four  years  being  granted  by  parliament,  pur- 
suant to  the  king's  desire,  the  Edinburghers  persevering  in 
their  affection  to  their  Prince,  generously  advanced  their 
quotcif  which  was  forty  thousand  pounds,  Scottish  money,  at 
once;  which  was  a  favour  so  acceptable  to  Charles,  that  he 
sent  the  following  letter  to  his  privy  council  in  Scotland,  as 
an  acknowledgment  thereof. 

Charles  B. 
Right  trusty  cmd  well  beloved  counsellarsy  right  trustt/  and  well 

beloved  cousins  and  caunsellorsy  and  right  trusty  and  well 

beloved  counsellors,  we  greet  you  welL 

^  Understanding  how  our  burgh  of  Edinburgh  hath  ad- 
vanced the  whole  four  years'  payment  of  their  taxation  at  one 
time,  thereby  expressing  their  affection  to  our  service,  tend- 
ing chiefly  to  the  honour  and  preservation  of  that  our  ancient 
kingdom ;  and  in  regard  the  same  hath  been  done  freely  of 


ANNALS.  91 

themselves,  seeking  onl}*  bow  to  please  us,  and  not  to  con* 
form  themselves  to  otliers  who  are  not  so  forward  in  so  good 
a  cause,  we  have  taken  it  exceedingly  well  at  their  hands; 
and  therefore  our  pleasure  is,  that  you  cause  insert  the  same 
deed  of  theirs  in  your  books  of  counsel,  that  it  may  serve  as 
a  discharge  for  the  payment  of  their  taxation  due  at  this 
time  to  us,  and  may  remain  upon  record,  as  a  grateful  testi- 
mony of  their  voluntary  affection  to  our  said  service,  whereof 
we  will  never  be  unmindful.  So  we  bid  you  farewell.* 
From  our  oonrt  at  Wanstead,  the  I2th  of  Jufy^  1626. 

The  king,  in  grateful  remembrance  of  tlie  service  lately 
done  him  by  the  Edinburghers,  honoured  them  by  a  present 
of  a  sword  and  gown,  to  be  carried  before,  and  worn  by  their 
Lord  Provost,  as  will  appear  by  the  follo^dng  letter. 

Charles  £. 

Trusty  and  well  belavedy  toe  greet  you  toelL 
^  We  have  perceived  by  the  effects,  your  affection 
to  ou*  service,  whereof  we  will  not  be  unmindful 
when  further  occasion  shall  offer,  whereby  we  may  express 
our  respect  unto  you.  We  have  sent  you  a  token  of  our 
favour,  a  sword  and  gown  to  be  worn  by  your  Provost,  at 
such  times,  and  in  such  manner  as  was  appointed  by  our  late 
dear  father.  As  you  have  begun  to  be  careful  in  our  service, 
we  do  not  doubt  but  you  will  from  time  to  time  continue  to 
do  the  like;  and  specially  in  giWng  your  best  furtherance, 
in  so  far  as  you  can  conveniently  do  to  Sir  James  Baillie  of 
Lochend,  Knight,  who  is  to  advance  divers  great  sums  of 
money  for  our  important  and  urgent  service  abroad.  And 
likewise  that  you  encourage  our  remanent  boroughs  to  do  the 
like;  and  to  pay  such  part  of  the  taxations  as  are  to  be  paid 
by  them,  with  all  convenient  diligence  that  possibly  can  be 
used;  which  recommending  unto  your  serious  care,  and 
which  we  will  take  as  acceptable  service  done  by  you  unto  us; 
we  bid  you  farewell.* 

From  oor  court  st  Newmabkkt,  the  third  of  March^  1627. 


1631. 


92  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

At  this  time,  the  city  youths  were,  by  the  town  council, 
ordered  to  be  formed  into  two  companies;  those  of  the 
merchants  into  one,  and  the  crafts  or  trades  into  another, 
and  each  company  to  carry  the  town's  coloors,  without  any 
other  sign  or  badge  whatever. 

The  common  council,  for  putting  the  royal  precept  afore- 
said in  execution,  ordered  that  the  Lord  Provost,  Bailies, 
Dean  of  Guild,  Treasurer,  and  old  Provost,  to  wear  scarlet 
gowns  at  certain  times,  according  to  the  pattern  lately  sent 
by  the  king;  and  appointed  a  sword-bearer  to  bear  the  said 
sword," 

Sfograp^tc  fiotitt  of  iloiiert  State. 

Robert  Bruce,  whose  name  has  been  already  men- 
tioned in  the  quarrel  of  James  VI.,  with  the  Edin- 
bui'gh  ministers,  was  bom  in  1554,  and  was  educated  at  the 
University  of  Edinburgh.  In  1587  he  came  fi:t>m  St. 
Andrews,  with  Andrew  Melville  to  Edinburgh,  and  was 
chosen  minister  to  succeed  Lawson,  the  successor  of  John 
EInox.  In  1590,  at  the  coronation  of  Ann  of  Denmark,  the 
Queen  of  James  YI.,  he  had  the  honour  of  placing  the 
crown  on  her  head  at  Holyrood.  In  1598  he  became  min- 
ister of  the  Little  Kirk,  Edinburgh.  He  offended  the  Eling 
by  reftising  to  return  thanks  for  his  delivery  from  the  Gow- 
rie  conspiracy,  as  he  entertained  doubts  of  the  treason,  and 
he  was  then  prohibited  preacliing  in  Edinburgh,  or  even 
Scotland.    Bruce  died  in  1631. 

Charles  L  paid  his  first  visit  to  Edinburgh,  and 
made  his  public  entry  to  the  Scottish  capital,  15th 
June  1633.     He  was  received  with  a  protusion  of  gaudy 
preparations,  and  three  days  after  was  crowned  King  of  Scot- 
land, at  Holyrood. 

These  occasional  visits  of  the  sovereign  were  not  without 
their  use,  making  Edinburgh  feel  that  she  was  still  the  capi- 
tal of  an  ancient  kingdom. 


AKKAL6.  93 

^In  1636,  the  Council,  thinking  that  the  place 
where  was  the  new  lower  court,  west  the  great  lodg- 
ing and  private  schools  of  the  College,  being  then  a  number 
of  baggage  thatched  houses  before  the  gate,  was  unseemly, 
snd  made  the  enclosure  of  the  College  disproportional, 
wanting  a  canton  upon  that  quarter,  caused  buj  the  right 
of  these  houses,  and  thrown  them  down,  intending  to  draw 
the  building  west,  by  a  straight  line  from  the  Bell-stair  to 
the  Horse  Wjnd,  and  thence  turning  an  angle  to  the  Pot- 
terrow  Port,  as  now  in  some  good  measure  was  performed. 
For  advancing  of  tliis  work,  this  year,  in  January,  Mr. 
James  Keith  of  Edmonston  gave  to  the  City  Treasurer  500 
merks  for  the  use  of  the  College.*'* 

The  Magistrates  of  Edinburgh  bought  the  Canongate 
and  part  of  Broughton,  adjoining  the  river  of  Leith,  and  the 
Pleasance,  from  the  Earl  of  Boxburgh  in  1636. 

The  celebrated  Golden  Charter,  granted  by  James  VI.,  as 
already  narrated,  to  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  must  have  been 
a  subject  of  great  jealousy  in  some  quarters,  and  influence 
seems  to  have  been  used  with  the  Town  Council  to  agree  to 
some  modifications  of  it,  as  we  find  Charles  I.  in  1636, 
granting  as  it  were  a  new  golden  charter  to  Edinburgh, 
which  will  be  laid  before  our  readers  among  the  historical 
documents  at  the  end  of  this  Part — as  the  two  together  form 
an  interesting  historical  detail  of  the  various  immunities  and 
privileges  granted  by  the  difierent  sovereigns  of  Scotland  to 
the  city  of  Edinburgh. 

The  favourite  scheme  of  Charles  I.  was  to  assimi- 
late  the  church  government  of  Scotland  with  that  of 
England,  by  establishing  Episcopacy  and  introducing  the 
Liturgy. 

Sabbath,  23d  July,  1637,  was  appointed  as  the  day  for 
the  first  reading  of  the  liturgy  in  St.  Giles's  church, 
but  when  the  Dean  of  Edinburgh  appeared  in  his  surplice, 
and  began  to  read  the  service,  an  uproar  ensued,  and  an 

•  Ciaiiftird*t  History  of  the  UniTersity  of  Edinburgh. 


94  mSTORT  OF  EDtNBURGHL 

old  woman  called  Jenny  Geddes,  a  name  now  famoas  in 
Scottish  histoiy,  threw  her  stool  at  the  Bishop— thus  com- 
mencing a  religious  and  civil  war,  which  ended  only  with 
the -trial  and  decapitation  of  Charles  I.,  or  rather  with  the 
expulsion  of  the  House  of  Stuart. 

In  the  following  year,  numbers  of  the  nobility^ 
gentry,  and  all  ranks  in  Scotland,  repaired  to  Edin- 
bui^h,  and  entered  into  a  mutual  agreement  or  contract, 
celebrated  in  Scottish  history — called  the  Solemn  League 
and  Covenant,  which  was  a  declaration  of  their  faith,  in  re- 
ligious matters,  and  their  determination  to  resist  Popery.  It 
was  very  numerously  signed  by  immense  masses  of  the  peo- 
ple at  the  Greyfriars  churchyard,  and  was  written  on  a  Uirgc 
skin  or  sheet  of  parchment. 

On  22d  January  1639,  Charles  I.  wrote  the  Town 
Council  from  Whitehall,  desiring  them  to  admit  some 
men  and  ammunition  which  he  had  sent  to  the  Castle.  This 
they  did  on  12th  February,  ordering  the  citizens  to  attend 
them,  in  their  best  armour,  on  the  occasion.  Though  remon- 
strating with  the  King,  that  some  of  the  men  he  had  sent  were 
not  natives  of  Scotland,  he  answered  by  saying  that  all  bom 
in  England,  since  the  union  of  the  Crowns,  were  accounted 
as  ^^  natives  of  our  realm  of  Scotland" — and  at  this  critical 
period  he  was  evidently  very  anxious  to  propitiate  the 
Town  Council  of  Edinbui-gh,  and  so  great  was  thought 
the  danger  of  commotions  in  Edinburgh,  that  the  Council, 
on  4th  March,  ordered  three  hundred  men  to  be  lened  to 
guard  the  city  by  day  and  night,  and  the  same  year  Charles 
sent  the  Marquis  of  Hamilton  to  Scotland,  as  Commissioner 
to  represent  him  both  in  Parliament  and  at  the  Greneral 
Assembly,  and  to  treat  with  the  Covenanters. 

The  Marquis  of  Hamilton  found  great  multitudes  assem- 
bled in  Edinburgh;  the  city  sent  deputies  to  him  at  Dal- 
keith, inviting  him  to  lodge  at  the  palace  ^fHolyrood-house, 
to  which  he  proceeded,  accompanied  by  great  numbers  of 
the  nobility  and  gentry,  but  his  negotiations  were  fruitless. 


ANNALS.  95 

and  he  had  to  retam  disappointed  to  London.     Charles 
sabseqnentlj  despatched  him  urith  troops  to  Scotland. 

Edinburgh  Castle  had  been  attacked  bj  General  Leslie, 
and  after  a  short  parley,  a  petard  was  bionght  to  the  outer 
gate,  which  was  immediately  blown  open,  axes  and  ham- 
mers demolished  the  inner  gate,  and  in  less  than  half  an 
hour  the  Covenanters  obtained  possession  of  the  Castle,  21st 
March  1639,  without  the  loss  of  a  man;  but  on  the  22d 
June  following,  it  surrendered  to  the  Marquis  of  Hamilton, 
who  re-appointed,  as  governor  of  that  fortress,  General  Ruth- 
yen,  now  created  a  peer  under  the  title  of  Lord  Ettrick. 

At  the  meeting  of  Parliament  in  July,  Buthven  cannon- 
aded the  town,  and  killed  some  of  the  inhabitants,  and  on  his 
revising  to  surrender  to  any  order  but  the  King's,  he  was 
besieged  in  due  form,  batteries  being  erected  against  the 
Castle  on  the  Castle  Hill — ^in  Greyfriars  churchyard — and 
at  the  West  Eark.  The  Covenanters  afterwards  turned  the 
siege  into  a  blockade,  and  after  a  brave  defence  the  garrison 
capitulated. 

Such  is  a  specimen  of  the  varied  fortunes  of  civil  war  in 
those  days  in  Edinburgh. 

Then  aindn  in  1640,  we  find  the  Scottish  Parlia- 

1640.  ^^ 

ment  passing  an  act  *  declarator  of  treason  against 
the  said  Lord  Ettrick,  for  his  conduct  towards  the  city  and 
citizens  while  in  command  of  the  Castle.  This  act  is  as 
follows: 

"  DECEEET  and  Declarator  of  treason  agains  Patrik 
Lord  Ettrik,  and  remanent  vnder  conianderis 
within  the  castle  of  Edinburgh. 

IN  THE  PAHLIAMENT  haldin  at  Edinburgh,  the 
ellevint  day  of  Junij,  the  yeir  of  God  one  thousand  six  hun- 
dred and  fourtie  yeiris,  ANENT  the   sumondis,  precept. 

*  Acts  of  the  Parliaments  of  Scotland,  vol.  x. 


96  HISTOBY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

and  charge  of  treason,  raisit  and  execute  at  the  instance  of 
Robert  Lord  Burlie,  president  of  the  high  cotirt  of  parlia- 
ment presentlie  conyeined  by  his  majesties  spedaQ  atithoritie 
AGANIS  Patrik  Lord  Ettrik,  keiper  of  the  castle  of'Edin- 
burgh,  and  the  remanent  comanderis  harelip  charge  yader 
him,  within  the  said  castle  MAKAND )  MENTIOUNE, 
That  the  estates  of  this  present  parliament  considdering,  That 
forsamekle  as  albeit  by  the  Law  of  natiounes,  The  fortes  and 
strenthis  of  ane  &ie  kingdome  ar  appointit  for  the  defence 
thereof  against  enemies  and  strangers,  and  that  by  the  laws, 
constitutions,  and  customes  of  this  kingdome,  the  castles  of 
Edinburgh  and   Dumbartoun  as  the  keys  of  this  realme, 
have  ever  beene  vsed  and  destinat  for  the  preservation  there- 
of, and  entrusted  by  the  Kings  and  Estates  of  parliament 
only  to  the  best  affected  natives  of  the  same,  and  that  by 
the  lawes  both  of  nations  and  municipall,  all  forraigne  gar- 
risons are  prohibited  to  be  imput  in  any  strenths  or  forts  for 
hurting,  destroying,  suppressing,  and  keeping  under  the 
natives  of  any  free  kingdome  least  these  strenths  destinat 
for  preservation  of  their  lifes  and  liberties  should  be  per- 
verted to  their  mine,  and  become  instruments  of  slaverie 
and  subjection.    Neverthelesse,  Patrik  Lord  Ettrik,  keeper 
of  the  castle  of  Edinburgh,  and  certane  other  persons  have- 
ing  charge  under  him  within  the  said  castle^  hes  receaved, 
admitted,  and  entertained  a  garrison  of  strangers  within  the 
same,  and  hes  used  all  roaner  of  hostilitie  against  the  citie 
of  Edinburgh,  and  his  Majesties  goode  Hedges  going  o^  the 
c5mon  high  wayes  adjacent  theirto,  by  continuall  shooting 
muskets  and  great  ordinance  out  of  the  said  castle,  whereby 
they  have  killed  divers  persons,  both  men,  women,  and 
children,  walking  and  conversing  therein,  for  their  laueful 
affaires  in  sober  and  quyet  maner;  and  ruined,  demolished, 
and  spoyled  divers  houses  and  tenements  within  the  said 
citie  as  is  notourlie  knowne,  seene,  and  vnderstoode  by  the 
said  Estates  of  parliament.    The  which  acts  and  deeds,  and 
everie  one  of  them,  the  said  Estates,  after  mature  deliberation. 


ANKAL&  97 

had  thereanent,  have  fonnd  and  declared  to  be  treasonable 
in  themselvis;  and  the  said  Patrik  Lord  Ettrik,  and  the  re- 
manent comanders  under  him,  within  the  said  castle, 
through  doing  thereof  to  have  encurred,  and  deserved  the 
paines  of  high  treason  comitted  against  this  state  and  king 
dome.  And  therefore,  have  ordained  a  precept  and  letters 
to  be  direct  by  us  Robert  Lord  Burghlie  as  president  of  this 
present  parliament,  to  the  Ljon  king  of  airmes  and  his 
brethrene  comanding  them,  immediatlie  after  the  sight 
heero^  to  passe,  waime,  and  charge  in  name  of  the  saids 
Estats,  and  of  us  the  said  Robert  Lord  Burghlie,  the  said 
Patrik  Lord  Ettrik,  keeper  of  the  castle  of  Edinburgh,  and 
the  remanent  comanders  having  charge  under  him  within 
the  said  castle;  that  immediatlie  within  24  hours,  nest  after 
they  be  charged,  they  rander,  upgive,  and  deliver  to  us  the 
said  Robert  Lord  Burghlie,  in  name  of  the  said  Estates 
as  appoynted  by  them,  the  said  castle  of  Edinburgh,  and  all 
that  is  within  the  same,  to  be  used  by  the  said  Estates  as 
they  shall  think  most  fitt  and  expedient  for  the  goode  of  his  • 
Majestic  and  the  weill  and  safetie  of  this  kingdome,  or  els 
compeare  personallie  before  the  said  Estates  of  parliament 
within  the  said  space  of  24  hours,  and  show  a  reasonable 
cause  why  they  should  not  doe  the  same  with  certification, 
that  incace  of  their  disobedience  and  delaying  to  obtemper 
and  obey  the  said  charge  be  the  space  forsaid,  that  as  they 
and  everie  one  of  them  have  incurred  and  deserved  the 
paines  and  punishment  of  treason,  so  tlie  said  Estates 
will  instantlie  proceed  against  them  and  every  one  of  them 
as  Traitors,  and  guiltie  of  high  Treason  against  this  state 
and  kingdome,  to  the  forefaulting  of  their  lifes,  states,  and 
lands,  by  decreet  and  declarator  of  parliament  onlie  to  be 
disposed  upon  by  consent  of  the  said  Estates  and  useing  of 
them  other^'ayes  in  all  hostile  maner  as  open  and  manifest 
Traitors  and  Enemies  to  the  same,  0I7R  WILL  IS  heere> 
fore,  and  wee  charge  zow  that  incontinent  thir  our  letters 
seene  yee  passe  to  the  walles  of  the  said  castell  of  Edinburgh 


98  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

or  mercat  croce  thairof,  having  zoor  full  coattes  of  armes 
openlie  displayed,  and  in  name  of  the  Estates  of  parliament, 
and  ours,  jee  perempterlie  comand,  waime,  and  charge 
by  sound  of  trumpet  and  publike  reading  of  these  our  letters, 
the  said  Patrik  Lord  Ettrik,  keeper  of  the  said  castell  of 
Edinburgh,  and  remanent  comanders  having  charge  under 
him  within  the  said  castell,  fhat  immediatlie  within  twentie 
four  houres  nixt  after  they  be  charged  by  yow,  they  raoder, 
vpgive,  and  deliver  to  us  in  name  of  the  said  Estats  of  par* 
liament,  as  appointed  by  them,  the  said  castle  of  Edin- 
burgh, and  all  that  is  within  the  same,  to  be  used  by  the 
said  Estates  as  they  shall  think  most  fitt  and  expedient  for 
the  goode  of  his  Majestie,  and  the  weill  and  safetie  of  this 
kingdome,  or  else  compeare  personallie  before  the  said  Estats 
of  parliament  within  the  space  of  twentie  foure  hours,  and 
shew  a  reasonable  cause  why  they  should  not  doe  the  same, 
with  certification  that  incace  of  their  disobedience  and  de- 
laying to  obtemper  and  obey  the  said  charge  be  the  space 
forsaid,  that  as  they  and  everie  one  of  them  have  incurred  and 
deserved  the  paines  and  punishment  of  treason ;  so  the  said 
Estates  will  instantlie  proceed  against  them  and  everie  one 
of  them  as  Traitors  and  gniltie  of  high  Treason  against  this 
state  and  kingdome,  to  the  forefaultiug  of  their  lifes,  states, 
and  lands  by  decreet  and  declarator  of  parliament,  only  to 
be  disposed  upon  by  advice  and.  consent  of  the  whole  estates, 
and  useing  of  them  otherwayes  in  all  hostile  maner,  as  open 
and  manifest  traitors  and  enemies  to  the  same;  And  that 
zow  deliver  back  these  presents  dnlie  indorsed  to  the  bearer, 
to  the  doing  whereof  in  maner  forsaid,  wee,  in  name  of  the 
said  Estates,  doe  heerby  give  zow  full  and  plaine  power, 
given  and  delivered  at  Edinburgh,  the  fyft  day  of  June 
1640. 

AND  ANENT  the  charge  gevin  to  the  said  Patrik  Lord 
Ettrik,  keipar  of  the  said  castle  of  Edinburgh,  and  to  the 
remanent  comanders  having  charge  vnder  him  within  the 
samene  ffor  randering,  vpgiving,  and  delyvering  to  the  said 


AKKAL6.  99 

Robert  Lord  Burlie,  president  of  this  present  hi^h  court  of 
parliament,  in  name  of  the  saidis  estatis  of  parliament,  as 
appoyntit  by  thame,  the  said  castle  of  Edinburgh,  and  all 
that  is  within  the  samene,  to  be  vsit  by  the  saidis  estatis  as 
they  sail  think  maist  fitt  and  expedient  for  the  good  of  his 
Majestie,  and  the  weill  and  safetie  of  this  kingdome,  within 
taentie  four  honris  nixt  eftir  the  said  charge,  or  ellis  to  haue 
compeirit  personallie  within  the  samene  space  of  tuentie 
four  bouris,  before  the  saidis  estatis  of  parliament,  and 
sbawiiie  ane  reasonable  cans  why  they  should  not  haue  done 
'the  samene,  with  certificatioune,  that  incaioe  of  their  disobe- 
dience, and  delaying  to  obtemper  and  obey  the  said  charge, 
within  the  space  foirsaid,  that  as  they  and  euerie  ane  of 
thame  had  incurrit  and  deservit  the  panes  and  punishment 
of  treason,  so  the  saidis  estats  wald  instantlie  proceid  aganis 
thame  and  euerie  ane  of  thame  as  traitors,  and  guiltie  of  hie 
treason  against  this  state  and  kingdome,  to  the  foirfaulting 
of  their  lyves,  states,  and  landis,  onlie  to  be  disposed  vpon 
by  the  advyis  and  consent  of  the  saidis  estates  of  parliament, 
and  vsing  of  thame  ntherwayis  as  open  and  manifest  traitors 
and  enemies  to  this  state  and  kingdome,  as  at  mair  lenth  is 
contenit  in  the  said  summondis  of  treason  and  in  the  exe- 
cntioune  of  the  charge  vsit  therevpon,  against  the  said 
Patrik  Lord  Ettrik,  keipar  of  the  said  castle  of  Edinburgh, 
and  against  the  remanent  comandehs,  haveing  charge 
vnder  him  within  tlie  samene  castle,  QUHILK  sumondis 
of  treason,  with  the  executiounes  thereof  being  publictlie 
red  in  open  and  plaine  parliament.  And  the  said  Patrik 
Lord  Ettrik,  and  remanent  c5manderis  vnder  him,  within 
the  foirsaid  castle  of  Edinburgh,  being  laufullie  sumond  and 
chargit,  in  roaner  and  to  the  effect  foirsaid,  war  oftymes 
publictlie  callit  in  open  and  plaine  parliament,  as  said  is, 
and  compeirit  not,  QUHAIRYPON  the  estates  haveing 
tane  to  their  consideratioune  the  grundis  and  ressones  of  the 
said  sumondis  of  treason  with  the  said  Patrik  Lord  Ettrik, 
and  remanent   c5manderis  vnder  him,    thair  disobedience 


100  HiaTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

and  contempi  of  the  foirsaid  charge  vsit  and  execute  aganis 
thame,  as  said  is,  and  of  the  certificatioane  abonewrittin, 
i^hereincontenit,  THE  SAIDIS  ESTATES  of  parliament 
presentlie  conveined  by  bis  Majesties  speciall  authorities 
ifindis  that  the  ressones  abonementionat,  quhatrvpon  the 
summonds  of  treason  is  fbundit  ar  relirant,  and  sufficient 
v;randis  to  inferre  declarator  of  treason  and  ibrfaltcMr  aganis 
the  coutravenars,  AND  SUA  FDIDIS  and  DECLAEIS, 
That  the  said  Patrik  Lord  Ettrik,  keipar  of  the  castle  of 
Edinburgh,  and  the  remanent  comanderis  hareing  charge 
vnder  him  within  the  samene,  and  euerie  ane  of  thame  hes 
incurred,  and  deservis  the  panes  and  punishment  of  treason, 
and  thairfoir  ffiudis  and  declaris  thame,  and  euerie  ane  of 
thame,  to  be  traitors  and  guiltie  of  high  treason,  againis  the 
state  and  kingdom,  to  the  foirfaulting  of  thair  Ijves,  states, 
and  landis,  to  be  disposed  vpon  be  the  kingis  majestie,  be 
the  advyis  and  consent  of  the  saidis  estates  of  parliament, 
and  utherwayis,  to  be  vsit  as  open  and  manifest  traitors,  and 
enemies  to  this  state  and  kingdome,  as  said  is,  BECAUS 
the  foirsaid  summondis  of  treason,  being  fund  Relivant  be 
the  said  estates  of  parliament,  and  warrand  being  gevin 
thereby  to  the  Lyoun  king  at  armes,  and  his  brethren  her- 
auldis  and  pursevantis,  to  pas  to  the  wallis  of  the  said  castle 
of  Edinburgh,  or  mercate  croce  thereof,  hareing  thair  fnll 
coates  of  armes  openlie  displayed,  and  in  name  of  the  saidis 
estates  of  parliament,  to  peremptorlie  comand,  wame,  and 
charge,  by  sound  of  trumpet  and  publict  reidding  of  the 
said.sumondis,  the  said  Patrik  Lord  Ettrik,  and  remanent 
commanderis  haveing  charge  vnder  him,  within  the  said 
castle  of  Edinburgh,  to  rander,  vpgire,  and  delyrer  the  said 
castle,  with  all  that  is  within  the  samene,  to  the  said  Robert 
Lord  Burlie,  in  name  of  the  saidis  estates  of  parliament, 
within  tuentie  four  houris  nixt  efter  the  said  charge,  or  ellls 
to  haue  compeirit  personallie  within  the  samene  space,  before 
the  saidis  estates  of  parliament,  and  shawine  ane  ressonable 
cans  quhy  the  samene  sould  not  be  done  with  certificatioune 


ANNALS.  101 

before  rehearsit.  AND  according  to  the  foirsaid  sumondis 
and  warrand,  John  Maloolme  Bos,  heranld,  and  John  Sawer 
Carrik,  pursuevant,  with  their  full  coates  of  armes  openlie 
displayed,  in  name  of  the  saidis  estates  of  parliament,  being 
approaching  toward  the  said  castle  of  Edinborgh,  vpon  the 
fijift  day  of  Junij  instant,  they  war  debarrit  fra  having 
acces  thairto,  be  the  said  Patrik  Lord  Ettrik,  and  remanent 
comanders  vnder  him  within  the  samene,  Qubairvpon,  they 
past  imediatlie  thereftir  vpon  the  said  ffvift  day  of  Junij 
instant,  to  the  mercate  croce  of  Edinburgh,  and  thair  having 
thair  full  coates  of  armes  openlie  displayed,  and  in  name  of 
the  saidis  estates,  they  peremptorlie  comandit,  wamit,  and 
chargit  by  sound  of  trumpet,  and  publict  reiding  of  the  foir- 
said sumondis  of  treason,  the  said  Patrik  Lord  Ettrik,  keipar 
of  the  foirsaid  castle  of  Edinburgh,  and  remanent  comanders 
having  charge  vnder  him  within  the  samene,  To  haue 
Eandert,  vpgevin,  and  delyverit  the  foirsaid  castle,  with  all 
that  is  within  the  samene,  or  «llis  to  haue  compeirit  person- 
allie  before  the  estates  of  parliament,  and  sha'v^'ine  ane  res- 
sonable  cans  in  the  contrair.  In  maner  to  the  effect,  and  with 
certificatioune  before  rehearsit,  As  the  said  sumondis  of 
treason  and  executioune,  thereof  bearis,  quhilk  e^cecutioune 
was  also  intimate  to  David  Scr}^mgeor,  Constable,  in  name 
of  the  said  Lord  Ettrik  at  the  castle  zett  (becaus  the 
said  lord  refuised  the  same,  and  ane  copie  thereof  offered  to 
him  be  Major  Cynighame,  as  was  verified  and  notorlie 
knav^dn  to  the  parliament  And  the  said  Patrik  Lord  Ettrik, 
and  remanent  comanderis  having  charge  vnder  him,  within 
the  said  castle  of  Edinburgh,  being  sua  laufuUie  chargit,  in 
maner  as  is  before  declarit,  and  being  this  day  oft  tymes 
callit  in  open  and  plaine  parliament,  they  nor  nane  of 
thame  did  compeer,  nather  to  give  obedience  to  the  foirsaid 
charge,  nor  to  shaw  anie  ressonable  cans  quhairfoir  they 
sould  not  give  obedience  thereto,  hot  failzet  thereintill,  a;» 
was  cleirlie  vnderstand  to  the  saidis  estalis  of  parliament.  IN 
respect  quhairof,  and  of  the  ressones  and  groundis  quhair- 


102  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

vpon^  the  foirsaid  somondis  of  treason  is  raisit,  qohilk  the 
estates  fRndis  relevant  as  said  is.  And  also  ffindis  the  samen 
safficientiie  instmctit  and  provin,  the  saidis  estads  of  par- 
liament, FAND  that  the  said  Patrik  Lord  Ettrik,  and  re- 
manent comanderis  having  charge  vnder  him  within  the 
said  castle  of  Edinburgh,  had  incnrrit  the  panes  and  punish- 
ment of  treason,  and  declared  thame  to  be  traitors,  in  manor 
before  rehearsit." 

In  1641  Charles  I.  again  visited  Edinburgh  to 
meet  the  Scottish  Parliament,  and  on  this  occasion 
the  Town  Council  entertained  him  at  a  sumptuous  banquet, 
which  cost  the  city  twelve  thousand  pounds  Scottish. 

Edinburgh  appears  originallj  to  have  been  only  one 
parish,  but  in  1584  the  Magistrates  and  Council  agreed  that 
the  city  should  be  divided  into  four  parishes,  each  to  have  a 
church  ;  and  in  1641  it  was  further  agreed  that  the  town 
should  be  divided  into  six  parishes,  with  churches  and  mini- 
sters to  each. 

The  early  ministers  of  the  city  had  manses  assigned  to 
them  in  the  Parliament  Close  or  Square,  but  in  the  time 
of  James  VT.  these  were  given  up,  and  the  clergy  afterwards 
had  their  residences  in  what  part  of  the  city  they  pleased. 

In  November  1641,  the  Scottish  Parliament  passed  the 
following  act,*  appointing  Alexander,  Earl  of  Leven,  gov- 
ernor of  Edinburgh  Castle: 

"ACT  In  favore   of  the  Erie  of  Levin  for  keiping 
of  the  castell  of  Edinburgh. 

THE  QUHILK  DAY,  the  Kingis  Majestie,  with  the  ad- 
vyce  and  approbation  of  the  estates  of  parliament,  nominat 
and  elected  Alexander,  Erie  of  Levin,  Lord  Generall,  to  be 
capitane  and  keiper  of  the  Castell  of  Edinburgh,  to  whome 
his  Majestie,  with  advyse  and  approbation  foirsaid,  committis 

*  Acts  of  the  Parliaments  of  ScotUiod,  voL  t. 


XKKAL8.  103 

the  cnstodie  and  keiping  of  the  said  Castell,  and  gives  and 
dispones  to  him  as  capitane  and  keiper  thereof,  the  haill 
rentis,  dewties,  liberties,  and  priviledges  belonging  and  ap- 
perteining  thairto,  to  be  bniikit  and  intromettit  with  be  him 
in  tyme  comeing  ffor  the  keiping  of  the  said  Castell;  quhilk 
castelly  his  Majeatie,  with  advyce  and  approbatioun  of  the 
saidis  estates  of  parliament,  ordeanes  to  be  pat  and  keipit  in 
the  conditioiin  the  samen  was  befoire  the  late  tnibles.  And 
thairfoire  ordaines  the  said  Castell  to  be  delyverit  to  the  said 
Alexander,  erle  of  Levin,  and  he  put  in  possession  thereof/* 
In  1643  Charles's  affairs  being  in  a  flourishing 

1643. 

condition  in  England^  from  successes  he  had  ob- 
tained over  the  Parliamentary  army ;  the  English  Parlia- 
ment applied  to  the  Scottish  Estates  for  aid,  which  they 
granted.  Charles,  feeling  the  impoitance  of  having  Edin- 
burgh in  his  interests,  addressed  a  most  flattering  letter  to 
the  chief  Magistrate,  asking  him  to  call  together  his  fellow- 
citizens,  **  and  to  put  them  in  mind  of  the  many  favours  our 
Town  of  Edinburgh  hath  received  from  us.'*  But  the  rul- 
ing powers  in  Edinburgh  could  not  trust  the  king,  and, 
abiding  by  their  engagements  witli  the  Committee  of  Es- 
tates, ordered  a  regiment  of  foot  of  1,200  men  to  be  raised ; 
and  for  the  greater  despatch  in  this  matter,  issued  a  procla- 
mation requiring  that  all  men  in  Edinburgh,  fit  to  bear 
arms,  between  the  ages  of  sixteen  and  sixty,  should  assem- 
ble in  the  Grej'friars'  church-yard,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the 
morning  of  the  following  Monday,  in  their  best  military  ac- 
coutrements. 

Edinburgh  suffered  severely  from  the  plague  in 

1645,  so  much  so  that  it  was  said  there  were  scarcely 
dxty  men  left  capable  of  defending  the  city,  therefore, 
on  the  l^iarquis  of  Montrose  writing  the  Magistrates  and 
Council  from  his  camp  at  Both  well,  19  th  August  1645, 
after  he  had  routed  the  army  of  the  Covenanters  at  Kil- 
syth, they  had  no  choice  but  to  submit  to  his  requisition  for 
the  immediate  liberation  of  the  Earl  of  Crawftird,  Lord 


104  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

Ogilvie,  and  others,  whom  thej  had  detained  aa  prisoners 
in  the  Tolbooth  of  Edinburgh. 

Btograq^u  Notice  of  lUtxnxiatv  Htntttvntnu 

Alexander  Henderson,  the  hero  of  the  period  that 
has  been  called  the  Second  Reformation  in  Scotland, 
was  bom  1583.  He  was  educated  at  St.  Andrews,  and  be- 
came Professor  of  Philosophy  there.  He  afterwards  was  mini- 
ster of  Leuchars.  The  tyrannical  attempt  of  Charles  L  to 
force  the  English  Liturgy  and  Episcopacy  upon  Scotland 
roused  Henderson  &om  his  privacy.  He  was  ordered  to  pur- 
chase two  copies  of  the  Liturgy  for  the  use  of  his  parish  within 
fifteen  days,  under  pain  of  rebellion.  He  forthwith  went  to 
Edinburgh,  and  represented  to  the  Privy  Council  that  the 
Church  of  Scotland  was  iree  and  independent,  and  could  not 
be  forced  to  adopt  such  steps.  This  bold  conduct  checked 
the  illegal  proceedings.  The  National  Covenant  of  15S0  was 
renewed.  The  document  was  drawn  up  by  Henderson,  and 
he  addressed  an  immense  multitude  assembled  in  the  Grey- 
fiiars  churchyard.  He  was  now  the  leader  of  the  staunch 
Presbyterians  in  Scotland,  and  presided  as  Moderator  of  the 
celebrated  General  Assembly  held  at  Glasgow  1638,  where 
he  had  to  oppose  all  the  courtly  influence,  headed  by  the 
Marquis  of  ELamilton,  and  was  soon  after  appointed  first 
minister  in  Edinburgh.  In  1639  he  presided  in  his  clerical 
capacity  at  the  opening  of  the  Scottish  Parliament,  and  the 
following  year  was  chosen  Principal  of  the  University  of 
Edinburgh.  He  attended  the  great  Westminster  Assembly 
in  1643,  and  took  an  active  part  in  its  deliberations.  He 
died  19th  August  1646,  and  was  buried  in  the  Greyfiriars 
churchyard,  where  a  monument  is  erected  to  his  memory. 
Grainger,  an  impartial  evidence,  because  a  member  of  the 
Church  of  England,  characterises  him  thus :  '^  Alexander 
Henderson,  the  chief  of  the  Scottish  clergy,  was  learned, 
eloquent,  and  polite ;  and  perfectly  well  versed  in  the  know- 


ANIMALS.  105 


ledge  of  mankind.  He  was  at  the  helm  of  affairs  in  the 
Greneral  Assemblies  in  Scotland,  and  was  sent  into  England 
in  the  double  capacity  of  a  divine  and  pleni|»otentiai7.  He 
knew  how  to  rouse  the  people  to  war  or  negodate  a  peace. 
Whenever  he  preached  it  was  to  a  crowded  audience ;  and 
when  he  pleaded  or  argued,  he  was  regarded  with  mute 
attention." 

The  following  are  the  inscriptions  sculptured  on  Hender- 
son's monument  in  the  Greyfiriars: — 

D.  ALEXAKBEB  HENDEBSOK. 

Memoriae  sacrum  D.  Alexandri  Hendersoni,  regi  k  sacris, 
Edinburgensis  ecdesise  pastoris,  ibidem  academic  rectoris, 
academise  Andreanae  alumni,  ampUficatoris,  patroni. 

Qui  contra  grassantes  per  fraudem  et  tjrannidem  prselatos, 
hbertatis  et  disciplinae  ecclesiasticae  propugnator  fuit  acerri- 
mus;  superstitionis  juxta  ac  succrescentiom  sectarum  mal- 
leus, religionis  cultiisque  divini  purioris  vindez  et  assertor 
constantissimus:  in  quae,  cum  omni  cura  et  cogitatione  in- 
cumbens,  assiduos,  cum  in  patria,  turn  in  vicino  Angliae 
regno,  labores  ecclesiae  utiles,  sibi  gloriosos  exantlavit,  ex- 
tremum  spiritum  effudit,  die  19  Augusti,  1646,  SBtatis  63. 

Translated  thus. 

Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Alexander  Henderson, 
chaplain  to  the  Ejng,  minister  at  Edinburgh,  and  principal 
of  the  college  there.  He  was  educated  at  the  university  of 
St.  Andrew's,  to  which  he  was  a  bountiful  patron  and 
generous  benefactor. 

He  was  a  most  diligent  defender  of  the  freedom  and  dis- 
cipline of  the  church,  against  the  fraud  and  tyranny  of  fu- 
rious prelates;  a  suppressor  of  superstition  and  growing 
sectaries,  a  maintainer  and  constant  asserter  of  religion  and 
the  purest  worship  of  God :  upon  which,  when  he  had  ex- 
erted himself  with  care  and  judgment,  and  laboured  inde- 
fatigably  both  in  this  kingdom  and  that  of  England,  for  the 


106  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

service  of  the  church  and  his  own  honour,  he  departed  this 
life  on  the  19th  of  August,  1646,  and  of  his  age  63. 

On  the  Weitem  side  of  tks  MonummU^ 

Beader,  bedew  thine  eyes. 

Not  for  the  dost  here  lies, 
It  quicken  shall  again. 

And  aye  in  joy  remain: 
But  for  thyself,  the  church  and  state's^ 

Whose  woes  this  dust  prognosticates. 

On  the  Southern  Side. 

Hanc  quisquis  umam  trasiens  spectaveris. 

No  negligenter  aspice; 
Hie  busta.  magni  cemb  Hendersoni, 

Pietads  noo  bustum  vides. 

Translated  thus: 

No  negligent  spectator  may 

Look  on  this  tomb  at  all; 
This  tomb  of  greatest  Henderson, 

And  duty  we  may  call. 

On  the  Northern  Side. 

Vir  fiiit  divinus  ac  plani  eximius,  et  omni  virtutum  genere, 
turn  pietate,  imprimis  eruditione,  prudentia  iUustris;  Regi 
serenissimo  et  utriusque  regni  ordinibus  joxta  charus;  cui  hoc 
monumentum,  pietatis  ergo,  erigendum  curavit  Oeorgius 
Hendersonos,  ex  fratre  nepos,  ipse  sibi  etemum  in  ftnimi> 
bonomm  reliquit. 

Translation: 

He  was  truly  a  godly  and  great  man,  illustrious  in  virtue, 
piety,  learning  and  prudence;  equaUy  beloved  by  the  Bling 
and  states  of  both  kingdoms:  To  whom,  George  Henderaon, 
his  nephew  by  his  brother,  caused  erect  this  monument^  as 
a  sincere  token  of  his  affection ;  the  deceased  having  left  his 
own  memorial  in  the  minds  of  all  good  men. 


AKNAL6.  107 

Charles  having  arrived  at  Newcastle  with  his 
troops,  proposals  were  made  to  him  for  a  settle- 
ment of  all  differences  with  his  subjects.  The  Town  Coun- 
cil of  Edinburgh  addressed  him  bj  petition  to  the  same 
effect,  this  being  a  juncture  of  time  at  which  th^  conceived 
both  Parliaments  were  to  give  in  propositions  '^for  ane 
happie  peace." 

The  Town  Council  ordered  the  sum  of  five  bun- 

1647 

dred  merks  to  be  paid  to  James  Grordon,  Minister 
of  Bothiemay,  for  his  pains  and  trouble  in  making 'an  excel- 
lent draught  or  view  of  Edinburgh  in  1647.  This  produce 
tion  of  Gordon's  was  very  creditable  to  the  state  of  the 
arts  in  Scotland  at  that  period. 

In  May  1648,  the  Scottisli  Parhament  passed  the 

following  act,*  appointing  the  Town  Council  a  Com- 
mittee of  War  within  themselves  in  those  troublous  times: 

^^  ACT  appoynting  the  Provest,  Baillies,  and  Councell 
of  Edinburgh,  to  be  ane  Committee  of  Warre  within 
themselves. 

FORSAMICKLE  as  the  Estates  of  Parliament,  taking 
into  their  consideration,  that  in  their  nomination  and  ap- 
poynting of  the  Committees  of  Warre  in  the  several  shires 
of  the  kingdom,  to  burgh  and  land,  there  is  none  appointed 
for  the  burgh  of  Edinburgh :  to  be  upon  the  Committee  of 
Warre  of  the  sheriffdom  of  Edinburgh,  within  the  whilk  it 
lies,  and  herewith  also  considering  that  the  Majestrates  of 
Edinburgh  are  SherifiiB  within  themselves;  and  that  the 
town  with  the  pendicles  thereof  Canogate,  Leith,  and  the 
pertinents  whilks  are  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Magis- 
tracie  of  Edinburgh,  is  so  considerable,  that  it  is  expedient 
and  necessary  for  the  guid  of  the  subjects  service,  that  the 
Provest,  Baylies,  and  Councell  of  Edinburgh,  sail  be  ane 

*  Acti  of  the  Parliaments  of  Scotland,  ▼ol.  yi. 


108  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

Committee  of  Warre  within  themselves,  and  the  jurisdictioii 
for  the  town  of  Edinburgh,  Canogate,  including  Pleasance, 
South  and  North  Leiths,  and  haill  pendicles  belonging  to 
the  joiisdiction  of  the  burgh  of  Edinburgh  and  Magistrats 
thereof,  reserving  to  the  Shire  in  relation  to  the  Levies, 
Bmghtoun,  and  Cannomylnes  or  any  other  place  to  land- 
'  wart,  which  formerly  put  out  men  with  the  Shii'e.  There- 
fore the  saids  Estates  of  Parliament,  do  hereby  nominate, 
appoint,  and  authorize,  the  Provest,  Bailies,  and  Councell 
of  the  burgh  of  Edinburgh,  to  be  an  Committee  of  War 
from  the  Parliament  for  the  said  burgh  of  Edinburgh,  Can- 
nogat,  including  Pleasance,  South,  and  North  Leithes,  and 
hail  parts  and  pendicles  thereof,  respective  belonging  to  the 
burgh  of  Edinburgh  and  jurisdiction  thereof,  and  hail  inha- 
bitants of  the  samine  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Ma- 
gistrates of  Edinburgh,  reserving  to  the  Shire  as  is  above 
written ;  and  the  Estates  hereby  grants  the  like  power, 
libertie  and  priviledges  to  the  saids  Provest,  Bailies,  and 
Councell  of  Edinburgh,  to  be  an  Committee  of  War  within 
themselves  as  said  is;  as  is  granted  or  anv  wayes  belongs 
to  the  Committees  of  War  of  the  several  Shires  of  the 
Elingdom,  and  according  to  the  tenour  of  the  act  made  in 
this  present  parliament,  anent  the  putting  of  the  Kingdom 
in  a  posture  of  defence.  And  nominating  the  Committees 
of  War  in  the  severall  Shires  thereof. 

Affairs  appearing  in  September  1648,  very  gloomy 
towards  Charles's  interests,  the  Lord  Chancellor, 
Lord  Loudoun,  ordered  the  Lord  Provost  to  call  a  meeting  of 
Council,  which  he  (Loudoun)  attended,  acquainting  them  with 
the  danger  of  the  king  and  country,  and  calling  on  them  to 
I'aise  a  regiment  of  500  or  600  men,  and  to  provide  for  their 
maintenance  for  a  short  time,  they  having  the  nomination 
of  the  officers.  This  they  agreed  to,  though  setting  rather 
slowly  about  it,  Lord  Loudoun  sent  them  a  threatening 
message,  which  had  the  effect  of  spurring  them  on,  and  they 
then  within  three  days  raised  a  regiment  of  600  men,  each 


ANNAJL&  109 

man  being  allowed  eightpence  a-day  of  pay,  and  a  mouth's 
]>ay  in  advance,  with  baggage  horses.  This  regiment  was 
sent  to  Falkirk. 

The  town  of  Edinburgh  bought  the  superiority  of  Ports- 
burgh,  being  that  part  now  called  the  West  Port,  lying 
to  the  west  of  the  Grassmarket,  in  1648,  from  a  person  of 
the  name  of  Hepburn. 

Btograiri^ic  fiatin  of  Gtntt  ttiOnpit* 

George  Gillespie  was  bom  in  Fife,  1613.  When 
tutor  in  Lord  Cassillis'  family,  he  wrote  a  work 
which  became  celebrated,  ^'Dispute  against  the  English 
Popish  Ceremonies  obtruded  upon  the  Church  of  Scotland.'* 
He  became  minister  of  Wemyss,  1638.  On  12th  Sept. 
1641,  he  preached  before  Charles  I.  at  the  Abbey  church 
of  Holyrood,  Edinburgh,  and  the  following  year  he  was  ap- 
pointed one  of  the  ministers  of  the  city.  He  was  one  of  the 
four  ministers  sent  by  the  Church  of  Scotland  to  the  West- 
minster Assembly,  1643.  He  was  Moderator  of  the  General 
Assembly  1648,  and  died  16th  December  of  the  same  year. 

The  Enxriish  Parliament  brought  their  sovereicni 

1649.  o  e 

to  trial,  condemned  and  beheaded  him  29th  Jan. 
1 649,  and  established  a  republic. 

Scotland  took  a  different  course  for  a  season. 

On  5th  February  1649,  the  Earl  of  Loudoun,  equipped 
in  a  robe  of  black  velvet,  at  tl)e  Cross  of  Edinburgh,  read 
the  proclamation  of  Charles  U.,  as  king  of  Scotland, — 
the  Isla  and  Snowdon  heralds  assisting  on  the  occasion. 
Before  obtaining  the  crown  of  Scotland,  Charles  had  to 
adopt  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  and  the  Scottish 
Parliament  abolished  that  grievance, — Patronage  in  the  Kirk. 

Edinburgh  seems  now  to  have  joined  somewhat  heartily 
in  the  Royal  cause,  and  agreed  to  iiimish  a  quota  of  1,200 
men  ;  but  on  account  of  the  recent  ravages  of  the  plague, 


110  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

'  the  population  being  reduced,  this  was  commuted  into  pav- 
ing forty  thousand  pounds,  Scottish  money  (£3,300  ster- 
ling)^a  sum  borrowed  for  the  purpose,  though,  on  the  sub- 
sequent royal  disasters,  the  Council  repudiated  the  debt. 

Btograyl^te  Notue  of  nStlKam  SntminoiiB* 

William  Drummond  of  Hawthomden,  near  Edin- 
burgh; the  celebrated  poet,  was  bom  13th  Dec. 
1 585.  He  was  educated  both  at  the  High  school  and  Univer- 
sity of  Edinburgh,  he  was  then  sent  to  France  to  study  civil 
law,  but  on  the  death  of  his  father.  Sir  John  Drummond,  he 
left  professional  pursuits  and  became  a  country  gentleman, 
residing  at  his  lovely  and  romantic  seat  of  Hawthomden. 
The  celebrated  Ben  Jonson  visited  him  there  in  1618,  and  he 
proposed  writing  a  poetical  work,  to  be  entitled  the  ^^  Dis- 
covery of  Edinburgh.*' 

Drummond  was  repeatedly  summoned  to  Edinburgh  as 
a  malignant ;  for  writing  satirical  verses  and  other  compo- 
sitions during  the  troublesome  times  of  Charles  I.  He  died 
4th  December  1649.  He  wrote  a  historical  woric  entitled 
the  ^^  History  of  the  Five  Jameses,  Eangs  of  Scotland,'' 
which  was  published  after  his  death. 

The  gallant  and  chivalrous,  but  mistaken  Mar- 
quis of  Montrose,  having  received  a  commission  as 
Captain-general,  made  a  descent  on  Scotland  in  favour  of 
Charles,  was  captured  and  brought  to  Edinburgh  under 
humiliating  circumstances,  18th  May  1650.  The  Magis- 
trates and  city  guard  met  him  at  the  Water  Grate,  near 
Holyrood,  and  conducted  him  through  the  city  with  cruel 
parade,  placing  him  on  a  hurdle  with  a  high  seat,  to  which 
he  was  bound,  the  executioner  being  near  him.  Three  days 
after  he  went  to  the  scaffold,  dressed  in  scarlet  and  gold, 
and  met  his  fate  with  great  firmness. 


1650. 


ANMAL6.  Ill 

Kottct  Of  tfyt  0Lnxtpii»  of  fiHonmnt. 

James  Graham,  Marquis  of  Montrose,  was  bom  in 
1612.  He  was  a  man  possessed  of  great  military 
genius.  After  gaining  many  brilliant  victories,  he  was  de- 
feated by  General  L^e  and  the  Covenantors  at  Philip- 
haugh,  13th  Sept.  1645.  He  then  came  through  a  variety 
of  political  adventures  on  the  contiDent,  and  afterwards 
thought  to  restore  Charles  H.  in  Scotland,  but  was  cap- 
tured and  marched  to  Edinburgh,  where  he  was  executed 
as  a  traitor  21st  May,  1650. 

OuvEB  Cromwell  having  been  now  sent  to  Scotland 
with  an  army,  crossed  the  Tweed  22d  July  1650,  and  rapidly 
advancing,  encamped  a  few  miles  south  of  Edinburgh,  near 
the  Pentland  Hills.  He  arrived  in  the  capital  a  few  days  after. 
The  Scottish  army  under  General  Lfcslie  were  encamped 
at  Corstorphine,  a  village  a  little  to  tlie  west  of  Edinburgh, 
whei*e  they  were  placed  in  such  necessities  for  provisions,  that 
the  Earl  of  Loudoun,  the  Lord  Chancellor,  wrote  to  the  Lord 
Provost,  urging  the  Council  to  send  ^'  bread  and  cheese,  or 
other  meat"  to  them.  They  afterwards  intrenched  them- 
selves  in  a  fortified  camp  between  Edinburgh  and  Leith, 
with  Arthur's  Seat  and  Salisbury  Crags  as  outposts — the 
Calton  Hill  planted  with  cannon — and  their  right  protected 

bv  the  Castle. 

Leith  was  regularly  fortified,  in  fact,  the  whole  iicinity 
of  the  city  presented  a  succession  of  batteries.  On  29th 
July  the  English  were  partially  successful  in  an  attack  upon 
Arthur's  Seat,  but  were  unable  to  retain  possession  of  it, 
and,  after  having  cannonaded  Leslie's  left,  at  Quarryholes, 
from  St.  Anthony's  chapel,  and  lying  a  day  and  night  ex- 
posed in  the  fields,  Cromwell  ordered  his  troops  to  retreat 
to  his  quarters  at  Musselburgh.  Cromwell  obtained  a  de- 
cisive victory  over  the  Scots  at  Dunbar  3d  Sept.  1650, 
taking  possession  of  Edinburgh  and  Leith  within  a  week 


A 


112  flISTOBY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

thereafter.  Edinburgh  Castle  sorrendered  to  him  on  24th 
December ;  the  whole  guns  in  the  fortress  at  that  time  de- 
livered up  to  him,  amounting  to  sixty-seven,  including  the 
great  gun,  Mona  Meg.  After  the  battle  of  Dunbar,  the 
Earl  of  Loudoun  again  wrote  the  Lord  Provost,  on  the  part 
of  the  Committee  of  Estates,  recommending  the  Magistrates 
to  leave  Edinburgh  for  Stirling,  as  they  would  not  be  able 
to  advance  the  public  service  if  they  remained  in  a  place 
^'  under  the  enemies  power/^  This  advice  they  adopted, 
and  in  absence  of  the  Magistracy  the  inhabitants  nominated 
thirty  citizens  to  act  for  them.  From  these  occurrences 
Edinburgh  was  left  without  regular  Magistrates  for  upwards 
of  a  year. 

Newspapers  began  to  exist  in  Edinburgh  about 
the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  There  must 
have  been  some  token  of  their  preparation  at  that  very 
period,  for  we  find  that  in  1650,  gazettes  or  newspapers 
were  prohibited  from  being  published  in  Scotland  until  they 
were  revised  by  the  Bbhop  of  Edinburgh. 

In  1652,  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland  were 
incorporated  into  one  Commonwealth  or  republic. 
Evan  Tyler,  an  Edinburgh  printer,  appears  to  have  car- 
ried on  business  at  Leith  in  1652,  and  in  Noyember  the  same 
year,  Christopher  Higgins,  a  printer,  came  with  Cromwell's 
army  from  England,  and  reprinted  at  Leith  a  London  news- 
paper, entitled  "  a  Diurnal  of  some  Pasaages  and  Affaimr 
The  same  individual  on  26th  October.  1653,  com- 
menced   to   reprint   the  "  Mercuriu$  ^Politicus "  at 
Leith,  but  in  November  the  following  year,  Higgins  trans- 
ferred his  printing-office  to  Hart's  close,  opposite  the  Tron 
Church,    Edinburgh,   where    he  continued  to  issue   this 
newspaper  till  April,  1660. 

In  September  1653,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Coun- 
cil for  the  annual  election  of  Magistrates,  the  Lord 
Provost  produced  a  letter  fr^m  Colonel  Lilbume,  Comman- 
der-in-Chief in  Scotland,  intimating  that   the  Council  of 


▲NKAL&  113 

State  had  ordered  all  the  present  civil  officers  of  corpora- 
tions in  Scotland  to  continue  in  office.     This  order  was 
complied  with,  and  no  new  election  took  place  till 

^^'    1655. 

In  1656  General  Monk  proposed  to  the  dtj  to 
contribute  £5,000  sterling  to  fortify  Leith,  and  erect 
a  citadel  there.  The  Town  Council  consulted  between  two 
and  three  hundred  of  the  most  eminent  citizens  on  this  mat- 
ter, and  the  proposition  was  agreed  to,  being  accompanied 
vdth  a  ratification  of  man  j  of  the  ancient  privileges  of  Edin- 
burgh. 

General  Monk  havinc  left  Edinburcrh   to  brinir 

lASO  - 

about  the  Restoration  of  the  monarchy,  and  matters 
all  progressing  to  that  event,  the  Town  CouncO  wrote  a 
letter,  11th  May  1660,  to  Charles  U.,  by  then*  Town-Clerk, 
Sir  William  Thomsone,  who  presented  it  at  Breda.  It  was 
couched  in  flattering  and  fdlsome  terms,  and  met  an  agree- 
able reception,  particularly  as  it  was  accompanied  with  a 
donation  of  £1,000  sterling.  The  Town  Council  gave  a 
sumptuotLS  banquet  at  the  Cross  on  the  occasion  of  the  Resto- 
ration, 29th  May  1660.  Soon  after  these  rejoicings,  as  a  pre- 
lude to  what  Scotland  had  to  expect  from  the  new  regime, 
warrants  were  sent  down  for  apprehending  Sir  Archibald 
Johnston  of  Warriston,  Sir  John  Chiesly,  and  Sir  James 
Stewart — the  last  was  Lord  Provost  of  Edinburgh,  and  was 
required,  in  virtue  of  his  office,  to  apprehend  Chiesly,  and 
lodge  him  in  the  Castle.  He  obeyed,  and  after  having  Sir 
John  conveyed  there  was  about  to  leave,  when  he  was  in- 
formed that  he  himself  was  a  prisoner.  The  frail,  aged,  and 
excellent  Warriston  was  executed  some  time  after. 

Few  more  striking  instances  of  political  vicissi- 
tude can  be  given  than  the  Scottish  Parliament  now 
reversing  the  sentence  and  forfeiture  of  the  Marquis  of 
Montrose,  and  re-interring  his  remains  with  great  pomp  in 
the  church  of  St.  Giles ;  and  bringing  the  Marquis  of  Argyle 
to  trial  and  execution  in  May  1661,  his  head  being  exhibited 


114  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBQH. 

on  the  Tolbooth  of  Edinburgh,  where  Montrose's  had  so 
lately  been  placed.  Argyle's  execution  was  speedilj  fol- 
lowed by  that  of  James  Gathrie,  one  of  the  best  and  most 
courageous  of  the  Presbyterian  clergy. 

The  city  of  Edinburgh,  in  1661,  bought  the  superiority 
of  the  King^s  Stables,  being  part  of  the  ground  under  the 
Castle  to  the  south-east,  lying  at  the  foot  or  west  end  of  the 
Grassmarket. 

The  first  newspaper  of  Edinburgh  manufSeu:ture, 
was  ^^  Mercuriua  CaUdoniut"  which  began  8th  Jan- 
uary, 1661,  and  was  printed  by  a  society  of  stationers,  in 
small  quarto  size,  and  consisted  of  eight  pages.  The  editor 
was  Thomas  Sydserfe,  son  of  the  Bishop  of  Orkney,  but  the 
publication  only  got  the  length  of  ten  numbers. 

fiiogtavf^ic  Not»e  of  ftrd^tioIB  Camiiiifn, 
fHuxtfaUk  of  flrgsle. 

Archibald  Campbell,  Marquis  of  Argyle,  was  bom 
1598.  He  signed  the  National  Covenant  at  Edin- 
burgh, in  1638.  In  the  ensuing  wars  he  was  opposed  to 
the  Marquis  of  Montrose.  Argyle's  army  was  defeated 
by  that  of  Montrose,  at  Inverlochy,  2d  February,  1645,  and  in 
a  few  days  after  he  appeared  before  the  Scottish  Parliament, 
at  Edinburgh,  to  tell  the  tale  of  his  misfortunes ;  and  for- 
tunately for  Edinburgh,  Montrose,  instead  of  marching 
there,  proceeded  northwards.  Argyle  placed  the  crown  on 
Charles  n.*s  head,  at  Scone,  1st  January,  1650.  On  the  Re- 
storation, 1660,  though  advised  otherwise,  he  waited  on  the 
King  at  London,  who  ordered  him  to  the  Tower,— -he  was 
then  sent  down  to  Edinburgh  Castle,  and  tried  before  the 
Scottish  Parliament,  13th  February,  1661.  His  magna- 
nimity and  calmness  at  the  trial,  and  his  innocence  of  the 
crimes  charged,  led  to  the  belief  that  he  would  have  been 
acquitted,  but  sentence  of  condemnation  was  pronounced  on 
the  25th,  and  he  was  executed  at  Edinburgh,  27th  Mav, 


ANNAL&  115 

1661>  meeting  his  death   with  the  utmoBt  fortitude  and 
calmness. 

Argyle's  history  is  a  specimen  of  the  mutabilities  of 
human  life, — '  and  cares  and  toils  in  endless  round  encom- 
pass all  our  ways/  He  was  buried  at  the  family  sepulchre, 
Kilmun. 


Biograiri^ic  fijttitt  of  ^amni  Gut^. 

James  Guthrie,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  mar- 

1661 

tyrs  in  this  city  during  the  bloody  and  persecut* 
iDg  times  of  Charles  11^  was  bom  about  the  year  1616, 
but  the  exact  time  and  place  of  his  birth  are  both  un- 
known. He  was  a  scion  of  the  house  of  Guthrie  of  Guth- 
rie, in  For&rshire.  After  having  completed  his  education, 
he  taught  as  a  professor  of  philosophy  in  the  University 
of  St.  Andrews ;  among  his  acquaintances  was  Sharp,  the 
future  Archbishop  of  St.  Andrews,  who  was  murdered  at 
Magus  Moor.  In  163b  he  became  minister  of  Lauder. 
This  was  the  year  of  the  famous  General  Assembly  at 
Glasgow,  and  the  events  there,  led  to  an  appeal  to  arms 
throughout  Scotland.  The  people  were  summoned  to  as- 
semble within  the  capital,  to  sign  the  National  Covenant, 
and  the  place  of  rendezvous  was  the  Greyfnars  chiirch. 
When  Guthrie  reached  the  city  by  the  West  Port,  then  one  of 
the  principal  entrances,  the  first  man  he  met  was  the  city 
executioner,  equipped  in  the  costume  of  his  office.  He  was 
startled  at  the  sight,  but  pushed  on  to  the  Greyfriars  church- 
yard, and  inscribed  his  name  on  the  document,  sa3dng,  ^^  I 
know  that  I  shall  die  for  what  I  have  done  this  day,  but  I 
cannot  die  in  a  better  cause."  He  was  appointed  by  the 
General  Assembly,  along  with  Alexander  Henderson,  to  go 
to  Newcastle  to  meet  Charles  I.  and  discuss  with  that  monarch 
the  subject  of  Prelacy,  and  try  to  overcome  his  objections  to 
Pi^bytery  and  the  Covenants.  In  1649  Guthrie  was 
translated  to  Stirling,  and  when  the  contest  arose  between 


116  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

the  Besolutioners  and  Protesters^  he  became  the  leader  of  the 
latter  party,  and  was  summoned  to  appear  before  CharlesJEL 
at  Perth  in  1651.  After  the  battle  of  Donbar,  he  met 
Cromwell  to  discuss  the  comparative  merits  of  Presby- 
terianism  ^and  Independency,  and  in  1657  he  was  sent  to 
London  again  to  meet  Cromwell.  On  23d  August  1660, 
he,  along  with  nine  ministers  and  two  elders,  assembled  in  a 
house  in  Edinburgh,  and  prepared  a  petition  to  Charles  11. 
urging  him  to  preserve  the  Reformed  religion  in  Scotland. 
This  was  considered  treason  ;  he  was  lodged  as  a  prisoner 
in  the  castle  of  Edinburgh,  and  was  ultimately  brought  to 
trial  before  the  Scottish  Parliament,  2l8t  February  1661. 
He  made  a  manly  defence,  and  so  aroused  the  sympathies 
of  some  of  his  judges,  that  several  of  them,  noblemen,  de- 
parted ;  declaring  they  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the 
blood  of  that  righteous  man.  The  sentence  pronounced 
was,  that  he  should  be  hanged,  at  the  cross  of  Edinburgh, 
his  estate  confiscated,  his  arms  torn,  and  his  head  set  up  on 
the  Nether  Bow.  He  mildly  replied, "  My  Lords,  let  never 
this  sentence  affect  you  more  than  it  does  me,  and  let  never 
my  blood  be  required  of  the  king's  family."  The  Marqtiis 
of  Argyle,  who  was  executed  a  few  days  before,  visited  him 
on  his  way  to  the  scaffold,  when  Guthrie  remarked  to 
him,  ^^  My  Lord,  God  has  been  with  you,  and  God  will  be 
with  your  Lordship,  and  such  is  my  love  to  you,  that  were  I 
not  under  a  sentence,  I  would  die  this  day  for  your  Lord** 
ship." 

On  the  morning  of  his  execution,  1st  June  1661,  he 
had  to  part  with  his  little  boy,  William,  about  five  years  old, 
who  was  so  young  and  unaware  of  the  tragedy  going  on ;  that 
he  had  been  playing  in  the  streets.  '^  Willie,"  said  he,  ^^  they 
will  tell  you  that  your  father  was  hanged,  but  think  not 
shame  of  it,  for  it  is  upon  a  good  cause."  When  he  was 
ascending  the  platform,  he  delivered  his  dying  address  to  the 
spectators,  with  as  much  calmness  as  he  would  have  given 
a  sermon  from  the  pulpit.     His  headless  trunk  was  coffined 


ANNALS.  117 

and  carried  to  the  Old  kirk  aisle  for  boiial,  and  the  head  set 
up  on  the  Nether  Bow  gate,  and  among  the  spectators  was 
little  Willie.  This  narrative,  it  need  scarcely  be  said,  pre* 
sents  Mke  portraiture  of  a  Scottish  hero. 


Garl  of  &ftint. 

Alexander  Leslie,  Earl  of  Leven,   the  famous 

1661 

General  of  the  Scottish  Covenanters,  was  bom  to- 
wards the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century.  In  early  life  he 
was  in  the  Swedish  military  service  under  Gustavus  Adol- 
phus.  In  1639,  Leslie  returned  to  Scotland,  and  was  soon 
after  chosen  leader  of  the  Scottish  army  by  the  Committee  of 
Estates.  He  provided  the  munitions  of  war  with  great  ac- 
tivity and  skill.  A  foundry  for  cannon  was  established  in 
the  Potterrdw 'of  Edinburgh,  and  Leith  was  fortified  as  an 
additional  security  to  Edinburgh.  His  taking  of  Edinburgh 
Castle  was  managed  with  considerable  strategy.  He  had 
part  of  his  troops  concealed  in  closes  at  the  Castle  Hill,  and 
having  burst  the  Castle  gate  with  a  petard,  the  inner  gate 
was  speedily  assailed,  and  scaling  ladders  a]>plied  to  the  walls 
of  the  fortress ;  and  the  garrison,  taken  by  surprise,  sur- 
rendered, 23d  March,  1639.  He  also  captured  numerous 
other  Scottish  fortresses.  Id  May  following  he  mustered  his 
army  about  fifteen  thousand  strong  on  Leith  Links,  and  then 
marched  to  Dunse  where  he  encamped.  An  arrangement  of  a 
pacific  nature  was  then  made  with  the  King,  but,  in  April, 
1640,  Leslie  was  again  placed  in  command.  In  1641,  he 
was  created  Lord  Balgonie  and  Earl  of  Leven.  At  the 
battle  of  Dunbar  he  was  on  the  field  as  a  volunteer.  The 
following  year  he  was  taken  prisoner  and  committed  to  the 
Tower  in  London,  but  was  liberated  on  the  intercession  of 
the  Queen  of  Sweden.  This  energetic  and  able  General 
died  at  Balgonie,  in  Fife,  4th  April,  1661. 


118  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

BiBgitapific  Xotire  of  Sbit  9xt^&nSa  JTolmttoii, 

lorB  raUrrintoiL 

Sir  Archibald  Johnstooi  Lord  Warriston,  passed 
Advocate  at  Edinburgh,  in  1633.  He  took  a  pro- 
minent part  in  support  of  Presbyterianism  in  Scotland.  He 
and  Alexander  Henderson  revised  the  Solemn  League  and 
Covenant  in  1638,  and  he  was  chosen  Clerk  of  the  famous 
General  Assembly  held  that  year.  He  was  knighted  and 
appointed  a  Lord  of  Session  in  1641.  He  attended  the  As- 
sembly of  Divines  at  Westminster,  in  1644 ;  was  appointed 
Lord  Advocate  in  1646 ;  Lord  Clerk  Register  in  1649 ; 
and  was  afterwards  created  a  peer  as  Lord  Warriston. 

After  the  Restoration,  an  act  of  forfeiture  was  passed 
against  him,  and  he  was  sentenced  to  death  in  1661.  He 
was  discovered  in  France,  and  brought  prisoner  to  the 
Tower  in  London,  then  removed  to  Edinburgh,  where  he 
was  hanged  at  the  Cross,  22d  July,  1663,  dying  with  per- 
fect calmness  and  Christian  intrepidity. 

Episcopacy  having  been  re-established  in  Scot- 
land in  1662,  religious  persecution  now  prevailed  to 
a  lamentable  extent  under  the  auspices  of  the  Oovernment, 
and  the  Magistrates  of  Edinburgh  were  compeUed  to  give  a 
bond  to  the  Privy  Council,  agreeing  under  a  penalty,  to  pre- 
vent the  erection  of  conventicles,  as  they  were  called,  and 
to  suffer  no  private  meetings  on  religious  afiairs  within  their 
jurisdiction. 

Charles  n*s.  birth-day  and  restoration  was  cele- 
brated 29th  May,  in  Edinburgh,  with  great  rejoicings. 
The  Lord  Commissioner,  in  state,  accompanied  with  his 
life-guards  on  horseback,  and  Sir  Andrew  Ramsay,  Lord 
Provost  of  Edinburgh,  the  Bailies,  and  Council,  in  their 
robes,  with  all  the  trained  bands  in  arms,  went  to  church,  and 
heard  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  upon  a  text  as  fit,  as  well 
applied  for  the  work  of  the  day.     Thereafter,  thirty-five 


ANNAL8.  119 

aged  men,  in  blue  gowns,  each  having  got  thirty-five  shil- 
lings in  a  purse,  came  up  from  the  abbey  to  the  great 
church,  praying  all  along  for  his  Majesty.  Sermon  being 
ended,  his  Ghrace  entertained  all  the  nobles  and  gentle- 
men  with  a  magni6cent  feast,  and  open  table.  After 
dinner,  the  Lord  Provost  and  councQ  went  to  the  cross  of 
Edinburgh,  where  was  planted  a  green  arbour,  loaded  with 
oranges  and  lemons,  wine  liberally  running  for  divers  hours 
at  eight  several  conduits,  to  the  great  solace  of  the  indiffent 
commoru  there.  Having  drank  all  the  royal  healths,  which 
were  seconded  by  the  great  guns  from  the  Castle,  sound  of 
trumpets  and  drums,  vollies  from  the  trained  bands,  and 
joyful  acclamations  from  the  people,  they  plentifully  enter- 
tained the  multitude.  After  which,  my  Lord  Commissioner, 
Provost,  and  Bailies,  went  up  to  the  Castle,  where  they 
were  entertained  with  all  sorts  of  wine  and  sweet^meats;  and 
returning,  the  Lord  Provost  countenancing  all  the  neigh- 
bours of  the  city  that  had  put  up  bonefires,  by  appearing  at 
their  fires,  being  in  great  numbers;  which  jovialness  con- 
dnued  with  ringing  of  bells,  and  shooting  of  great  guns  till 
twelve  o'clock  at  night 

The  relentless  persecutions  of  the  period  at  length 
led  to  a  rising,  commencing  with  a  few  outlawed 
peasants  who  had  sought  refuge  among  the  mountains  of 
Galloway,  and  who  were  roused  by  seeing  a  poor  old  man, 
who  had  fled  from  his  home  to  raise  money  to  pay  his  cruel 
fines ;  actually  about  to  be  stripped  and  placed  naked  on  a 
red-hot  gridiron. 

The  rising  was  thus  unconcerted,  but  the  ranks  swelled 
as  they  marched  to  Dumfries.  When  the  news  of  the  com- 
motion reached  Edinburgh,  great  alarm  was  created  there, 
the  guards  were  doubled,  and  all  citizens  capable  of  defence 
enrolled,  and  the  neighbouring  nobles  summoned  to  defend 
the  town.  The  friends  of  the  insurgents  in  Edinburgh,  in- 
cluding Colonel  Wallace,  and  Mr.  John  Welsh,  minister ; 
joined  them  in  Ayrshire.    Wallace  was  chosen  commander 


120  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

of  these  whigs,  and  they  marched  first  to  Lanark^  whence 
they  proceeded  to  Colinton,  within  three  miles  of  Edinburgh ; 
bat  the  metropolis  was  shat  against  them,  cannon  being 
placed  at  the  gates.  Thej  then  turned  hj  the  east  end  of 
the  Pentland  Hills,  and  took  up  a  position  at  Bullion 
Green,  where,  on  28th  November,  1666,  they  were  routed 
bj  General  Dalziel. 

The  prisoners  were  brought  to  Edinburgh,  and  thrust 
into  a  church  called  Haddo's  Hole.  Thej  had  surrendered 
on  promise  of  quarter ;  but  faith  was  not  kept  with  them, 
and  they  suffered  as  traitors.  Hugh  Mackail,  a  young  pro- 
bationer, who  had  been  associated  with  them  before  the  bat- 
tle, was  most  cruelly  used,  being  tortured  with  the  boot, 
which  he  bore  with  great  firmness,  and  on  the  scaffold 
showed  courage  beyond  the  ordinary  reach  of  human  na- 
ture. He  was  buried  with  other  martyrs,  in  the  Grey- 
friars  churchyard,  a  little  above  the  stair  of  the  entry  to  it 
from  the  Cowgate  head. 

iHoqt$l9^it  Notice  of  Hugi^  IMadtaiL 

The  brave  young  Scottish  martyr,  Hugh  Mackail, 
was  bom  in  1640,  was  educated  at  the  University  of 
Edinburgh,  and  was  afl;erwards  chaplain  to  Sir  James 
Stewart,  Lord  Provost  of  the  city.  He  was  licensed  as  a 
preacher  in  1661,  and  soon  afler  offended  Lauderdale  and 
Sharp  by  his  bold  anathemas  against  their  cruel  persecu- 
tions of  the  Presbyterians.  He  was  seized  at  the  Crags  of 
Braid-bum  near  Edinburgh,  and  fever  was  brought  on  by 
the  severe  torture  applied  to  him.  He  was  found  guilty 
of  rising  in  arms  and  entering  into  the  Solemn  League  and 
Covenant,  and  hanged  at  the  Cross  of  Edinburgh,  22d  Dec. 
1666. 

The  orixnn  of  the  Chief  Maimtrate  of  Edinburgh 

1667  '  ^^ 

being  privileged  with  the  title  of  Lord  Provost,  ap- 
pears not  to  have  been  traced  either  by  Maitland  or  Amot, 


▲NKAL6.  121 

— ^the  former  thought  it  only  by  ^^  prescription  and  not  by 
grant.*"  It  seems  to  have  arisen  thus :  Sir  Andrew  Ram- 
say^  while  Chief  Magistrate  in  1667,  received  a  letter  from 
Charles  II.  determining  that  the  Provost  of  Edinburgh  should 
have  the  same  place  and  precedency  within  the  town  pre* 
dncts  that  was  due  to  the  mayors  of  Lfondon  or  Dublin, 
and  that  no  other  provost  should  be  called  LoBD  Pbovost 
but  he.* 

On  4th  July  1668,  James  Mitchell,  a  preaclier 
who  had  been  in  arms  at  Bullion  Green,  waited  at 
the  head  of  Blackfriars  Wynd  for  Sharp,  Archbishop  of 
St.  Andrews,  coming  from  his  lodging  at  the  foot  of  that 
lane ;  and  as  soon  as  he  got  into  his  carxiage,  fired  a  pistol 
at  him.  Honeyman,  Bishop  of  Orkney,  who  was  seated  be- 
side him,  received  the  shot,  and  Sharp  escaped.  This  made 
a  commotion  in  the  city,  and  the  Magistrates  ordered  the 
gates  to  be  closed,  and  a  strict  but  unavailing  search  was 
made  for  the  culprit. 

The  in£Eunou8  Lauderdale,   who  had  long  tor- 
mented Scotland,  now  got  himself  nominated  Com- 
missioner, to  represent  the  King  in  the  Scottish  Parliament, 
and  at  his  entry  to  Edinburgh,  October  1669,  was  received 
with  almost  royal  state. 

Sfograpi^it  Kotite  nf  Enteral  ^Honft, 
dttiu  of  ftlbematlt. 

General  George  Monk  was  bom  in  1608.  He 
came  with  Charles  I.  to  Scotland  in  1639,  and 
served  at  a  later  period  with  Cromwell  at  the  battle  of 
Dunbar  in  1650,  and  afterwards  held  the  command  of  the 
English  forces  in  Scotland.  It  was  alleged  that  Cromwell 
became  jealous  of  him  during  the  latter  part  of  the  Protec- 
torate.    He  may  be  said  to  be  the  man  who  accomplished 

•  Foontamhall's  Decisions. 


122  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

the  restoration  of  Charles  II.     After  that  event  he  was 
created  Duke  of  Albemarle*     He  died  1670. 

The  passage  firom  Bristo  Street  to  the  Potterrow,  which 
still  bears  the  name  of  General's  Entrj,  has  its  designation, 
from  him,  as  there  he  held  his  residence  in  Edinburgh 
previous  to  the  Restoration*  A  conspicuous  character, 
he  was  well  known  at  that  period  among  the  citizens  of 
Edinburgh. 

The  printers  of  Edinburgh  applied  for  a  patent, 
which  they  obtained  in  1671  in  the  name  of  Andrew 
Anderson,  and  it  was  so  extensive,  that  no  one  in  Scotland 
was  at  liberty  to  print  any  book  from  a  Bible  to  a  ballad, 
without  a  licence  from  this  same  Andrew  Andei'son,  but  his 
patent  was  afterwards  restricted  to  Bibles  and  Acts  of  Par- 
liament, and  to  be  in  force  for  forty-one  years.  EQs  widow 
succeeded  to  this  patent,  and  seems  to  have  rigorously  pro- 
secuted her  rights  both  against  printers  and  booksellers.% 

Serious  fires  having  occurred  in  Edinburgh,  from 

there  being  many  wooden   bnildings   in   the  city 

covered  with  thatch,  an  act  of  the  Town  Council  was  passed 

1677,  decreeing  that  for  the  future  all  houses  be  built  of 

stones  and  covered  with  slates  or  tiles. 

Mitchell,   who  some  years  before  made  the  at- 
tempt on  Archbishop  Sharp's  life,  having  been  taken, 
and    on    solemn    assurance  of   being  pardoned,   pleaded 
guilty;  but  in  the  face  of  this,  he  was  brought  to  trial, 
condemned  and  executed  18th  January  1678.    The  trial 
lasted  four  days,  and  created  great  excitement  at  this  period. 
In  1679  the  city  gave  a  sumptuous  entertain<« 
ment  to  the  son  of  Charles  II.,  the  Duke  of  Buc- 
cleuch  and  Monmouth,  who  was  Commander4n-Chief  of  the 
army  in  Scotland,  and  presented  him  with  the  freedom  of 
the  city  in  a  gold  box.     This  was  a  direct^  ancestor  of  the 
present  ducal  family  of  Bucclench,  he  having  mairied  the 
heiress  of  that  house. 


AKNAL&  123 

Afber  the  battle  of  Bothwell  Bridge,  which  was  fought 
22d  June,  1679,  the  Covenanters  taken  there  were  brought 
to  Edinburgh  and  treated  with  great  cruelty,  being  kept  for 
several  months  in  the  Grej&iars  churchjard,  exposed  to  all 
the  inclemency  of  tlie  weather. 


9Lti^bi%f)np  of  Skt  fltaSreton* 

William  Sharp,  known  in  Scottish  history  as 
Archbishop  Sharp,  was  bom  at  Ban£f,  1618.  He 
became  Professor  of  Philosophy  at  St.  Andrews,  and  after- 
wards minister  of  Crail.  »Li  1661  he  aided  Charles  11.  in 
his  attempts  to  subvert  Presbytery  in  Scotland,  and  as  a  re> 
ward  for  his  apostacy  was  nominated  Archbishop  of  St. 
Andrews.  In  1668  he  narrowly  escaped  assassination  on 
the  ELigh  street  of  Edinburgh  at  the  head  of  Blackfriars 
Wynd,  the  metropolitan  residence  of  the  Archbishop  of  St. 
Andrews,  from  which  be  had  just  come,  being  in  that  lane. 
Those  who  are  curious  in  antiquities  can  still  see  the  turret 
of  this  house  standing  at  the  south-east  comer,  foot  of 
Blackfriars  Wynd. 

In  1679,  he  was  dragged  out  of  his  carriage  at  Magus 
Moor  in  Fife,  and  murdered  by  Hackston  of  Bathillet, 
and  some  others.  Sir  William  Allan's  picture  of  the  murder 
has  further  immortalised  the  event. 


Xotict  of  Sir  3am$%  9itiiBafL 

Sir  James  Dundas  of  Amiston,  one  of  the  earliest 

1679 

heads  of  that  family  whose  name  occupies  so  conspi- 
cuous a  figure  in  the  legal  proceedings  and  political  history 
of  Scotland,  was  Member  of  Parliament  for  the  county  of 
Edinburgh,  and  in  1662  was  elevated  to  the  bench  as  Lord 
Amiston.  When  required  to  sign  a  declaration,  abjuring 
the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant,  he  refused  unless  allowed 


124  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

to  add,  ^^  except  in  so  far  as  such  leagues  might  lead  to  deeds 
of  actual  rebellion.''  For  this  misdemeanour  he  forfeited 
his  gown,  retired  to  Amiston,  and  died  in  1679. 


0Mitt  of  Hid^arS  ff omerotu 

Bichard  Cameron  was  in  early  life  a  teacher  at  Falk- 
land, in  Fife,  and  afterwards  became  a  preacher  and 
a  great  advocate  for  the  spiritual  independence  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  and  incurred  the  hostility  of  the  more  moderate 
of  the  ministers  at  Edinburgh,  in  1677.  He,  with  a  little 
band  of  coadjutors  at  Sanquhar  in  1680,  renounced  his 
allegiance  to  Charles  U.,  on  account  of  the  persecuting 
tyranny  of  his  government.  The  Privy  Council  oflTered  a 
reward  of  three  thousand  merks  for  Cameron's  head.  He 
was  slain  at  Airdsmoss,  20th  July,  that  year,  and  his  head 
and  hands  exhibited  on  the  Netherbow  Port,  at  Edinburgh. 
The  Cameranicma  derived  their  name  from  this  pious  and 
zealous  man. 

In  1680  the  Duke  of  York,  afterwards  James  II. 

1680> 

of  England  and  James  VH.  of  Scotland,  came  with 
his  Duchess  to  reside  at  Holyrood  palace,  as  a  sort  of  vice- 
roy for  his  brother  in  Scotland.  The  Magistrates  received 
them  with  great  pomp,  and  entertained  them  at  a  sumptuous 
banquet  in  the  Parliament  House. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  the  students  of  the  University 
resolved  to  manifest  their  zeal  against  Popery,  by  a  procea- 
sion,  and  burning  the  effigy  of  the  Pope  on  Christmas  day ; 
bat  the  Magistrates  having  heard  of  their  intention  resolved 
to  stop  the  intended  procession,  and  sent  a  party  of  soldiers 
accordingly,  so  that  instead  of  his  holiness  being  burned 
with  solemnity  at  the  Cross,  the  students  had  to  commit 
him  to  the  flames  in  a  more  quiet  manner  at  Blackfiriars 
Wynd ;  seven  of  these  fiery  youths  were  apprehended 
and  detained  some  days  in  custody.     This  led  to  strong  de- 


AKKAL&  126 

nuDciations  of  revenge  on  the  part  of  the  stadants ;  bat  it 
was  not  imagined  that  their  act  of  retaliation  would  be  to 

daring  as  it  eventually  proved,  for  on  the  11th  Jan«^ 

1681,  only  a  week  or  two  after  the  effigy  affiur,  the 
house  of  Priestfield  or  Prestonfield^'the  mansion  of  Sir 
James  Dick,  dtuated  little  more  than  a  mile  south  of  the 
city,  was  set  on  .fire,  and  ^ith  aU  the  furniture  burned  to 
the  ground.  Sir  James  Dick  was  then  Lord  Provost  of 
Edinburgh,  but  his  family  were  fortunately  at  their  town 
residence.  A  barrel  half  full  of  combustible  materials  was 
found  in  an  adjoining  park,  and  several  parties  deponed,  that 
on  the  night  of  the  conflagration  they  observed  young  men, 
with  unlighted  links  or  flambeaux  and  a  dark  lantern,  pro- 
ceeding towards  Priestfield.  A  pardon  and  a  reward  of 
two  hundred  merks  was  offered  by  the  Privy  Council  for 
the  apprehension  of  the  guilty  parties,  but  tliey  were  never 
discovered.  The  gates  of  the  university  were  ordered  to  be 
dosed,  and  the  students  to  withdraw  fifi«en  miles  firom  the 
dty  ;  but  in  ten  days  the  gates  were  again  opened,  and  the 
students  allowed  to  return  on  their  firiends  becoming  secu- 
rity for  their  future  peaceable  behaviour. 

The  merchants  of  Edinburgh  were  created  into  a 

corporate  body  by  charter  from  Charles  EL.  Oct. 
1681,  under  the  designation  of  the  ^'  Company  of  Merchants 
of  the  City  of  Edinburgh."  This  Company  elect  a  Master, 
twelve  Assistants,  and  a  Treasurer  to  manage  their  affairs. 
They  have  a  prindpal  management  of  the  Merchant 
Maiden,  George  Watson's  and  Gillespie's  Hospitals.  Their 
capital  stock  amounts  to  upwards  of  £21,000,  besides  a 
Widows'  Scheme,  which  possesses  a  capital  of  £45,000. 

This  Company  have  shown  a  great  deal  of  public  spirit 
and  activity  in  taking  cognizance  of  ever}'  thing  connected 
with  the  coDunercial  prosperity  of  the  city  as  weU  as  the 
general  interests  of  the  community. 

The  dty  of  Edinburgh  had  for  many  years  been 

lighted  at  night  with  bowets  hung  out  in  the  streets ; 


126  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBUB0H. 

but,  in  1684,  the  Town  Coancil  ordered  a  lantern  and  can- 
dle to  be  suspended  from  the  first  story  of  every  tenement 
or  land,  firom  the  29th  October  each  season,  to  bum  frooi 
five  till  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening,  as  an  improved  mode  of 
illumination. 

Biogtayi^tf  VotUt  of  flriiiayal  lUiiim  I#eig|tim, 

ISxtHft^in^np  of  0flMgoio. 

The  famous  Bishop  Bobert  Leighton  was  bom  in 
Edinburgh  in  1611,  and  was  educated  at  the  Uni* 
versity  there.  He  was  ordained  Presbyterian  Minister  of 
Newbattle,  in  the  county  of  Edinburgh,  in  1641,  and  at  a 
time  when  the  Scottish  pulpit  was  often  degraded  by  dis- 
cussing the  transitory  events  of  the  period,  the  inquiry 
was  made  at  him  by  the  Presbytery  if  he  preached  to  the 
times,  he  nobly  replied, — ^^  For  Grod's  sake,  when  all  my 
brethren  preach  to  the  times,  su£fer  one  poor  priest  to  preach 
about  eternity;'"  he  afterwards  became  Principal  of  the 
University  of  Edinburgh,  which  office  he  filled  for  ten  years, 
and  in  1661,  he  was  persuaded  to  accept  of  the  Bishopric  of 
Dunblane.  Though  a  Bishop,  he  was  modest,  quiet,  and 
retired  in  his  character  and  demeanour*  In  1670,  he  became 
Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  and  hoped  to  bring  about  a  recon- 
ciliation between  Episcopacy  and  Presbytery ;  but  finding 
this  impracticable,  he  resigned  his  Archiepiscopal  see, 
and  resided  for  some  time  again  at  the  college  of  Edin- 
burgh, where  he  founded  a  bursary. 

His  Commentary  on  St.  Peter  was  published  in  1693. 
He  died  in  London  in  1684.  His  works  were  published  at 
a  later  period  in  4  vols.  8vo.,  with  a  preface  by  Dr.  Dod- 
dridge.   He  was  a  man  of  learning  and  piety. 

In  1684,  the  Town  Council  ordered  two  coaches 

1684. 

with  four  horses  each  to  be  purchased  in  London 
for  the  use  of  the  Magistrates,  great  expense  having  been 


AKNAU&  127 

previoosl J  incurred  for  coach  hireB  for  the  Magistntes  when 
CD  official  duty. 

The  Town  Coimcil  harizig  got  ezecated  a  superior 
equestrian  statue  of  Charles  11.^  had  it  erected  in 
the  Parliament  Square  in  1685^  only  a  short  time  before  his 
death.  It  would  probably  have  bothered  the  brains  of 
these  learned  burghers  or  city  wiseacres,  to  have  been 
called  on  to  state  for  what  good  deeds  they  awarded  this 
honour. 

It  has  long  been  a  common  piece  of  small  wit  among 
young  people  in  Edinburgh,  that  Charles  II.  was  to  come 
down  from  his  horse  when  he  heard  one  o'clock  strike,  but 
as  he  has  never  yet  heard  it,  he  continues  there  as  an 
equestrian. 

On  the  accession  of  the  Duke  of  York  to  the  throne,  as 
James  VII.  of  Scotland  or  James  11.  of  England,  flattering 
dnlities  were  exchanged  between  him  and  the  Town  Coun- 
cil, he  having  been,  for  some  years  previous,  a  denizen  of 
Edinburgh.  He  was  proclaimed  King  at  the  Cross  on  10th 
Feb.  1685.  Episcopacy  was  now  no  longer  the  aim  of  the 
court,  but  Popery ;  James  being  a  Roman  Catholic. 

Biogta^tiit  Kotit^  of  9Lrct^ihaIB  Camiiben, 

£arl  of  atrgplt. 

Archibald  Campbell,  ninth  Earl  of  Arg}'le,  was  the 
son  of  the  Marquis  of  Argyle,  who  was  executed  at 
Edinburgh  in  1661.  He  was  educated  under  the  special  care 
of  his  father,  after  whose  execution,  Charles  11,  restored  the 
fimfiily  estates  to  the  son.  The  Earl  of  Argyle  took  the  Test  act 
in  1681  with  explanations;  for  this  he  was  tried  and  con- 
demned, 13th  December,  1681,  but  he  made  his  escape  from 
Edinburgh  Castle,  disguised  as  a  page.  After  various  ad- 
ventures and  wanderings,  he  was  captured  near  the  Clyde 
and  again  marched  to  Edinburgh,  20th  June,  1685,  where 
he  was  treated  like  the  meanest   criminal.     The  Scottish 


128  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

Parliament  styled  him  an  hereditary  traitor,  and  he  was  con«> 
demned  to  death.  The  morning  of  his  execution  he  spent 
in  religions  exercises, — ^his  mind  being  calm,  and  his  sleep 
tranquil.  His  head  was  severed  from  his  body,  at  Edin* 
burgh,  30th  June,  1685. 

From  among  the  old  and  interesting  monumental  inscrip- 
tions in  the  Greyfriars  burying  ground,  we  here  present  our 
readers  with  a  brief  one  to  the  memory  of  a  Lord  President 
of  the  Scottish  Court  of  Session,  probably  an  ancestor  of 
the  present  Earl  of  Eantore. 

M.  P.     Q.  S. 

Tenet  hoc  9epulchrum  cineres  D.  Davidis  Falconari  k 
Newtoun,  h  familia  Halcartoniana  oriundi,  supremi  senates 
Prsesidis  integerrimi;  Carolo  II.  et  Jacobo  VII.  consiliarii 
fidelissimi;  in  summum  illud  fastigium,  summ4  in  B^es 
fidelitate,  et  insigni  in  negotiis  vigilantift,  universo  patriae 
Toto,  bono  publico  admoti:  qui,  dum  nimi&  h&c  vigOantiA, 
patrisd  plus  quam  sibe  viveret,  obiit  15  Decembris  1685, 
aatatis  46. 

Translated  thus: 

This  sepulchre  contains  the  ashes  of  Sir  David  Falconer, 
of  Newtoun,  descended  of  the  family  of  Halkertoun,  most 
upright  President  of  the  Session,  and  a  most  faithful  coun- 
sellor to  King  Charles  II.  and  King  James  YIL  advanced 
to  the  pinnacle  of  honour,  by  the  unanimous  desire  of  the 
country,  and  for  the  public  service,  by  reason  of  his  great  loy- 
alty to  his  prince,  and  for  his  great  and  notable  vigilance  and 
despatch  of  business;  by  which  vigilance,  while  he  lived 
more  to  his  country  than  to  himself  he  died  on  the  15th 
of  December  1685,  in  the-46th  year  of  his  age. 

And  also  another  to  Thomas  Douglas  of  Cavers, 
from  the  same  ancient  cemetery,  where  the  bones  of 


ANNAL&  129 

the  Scottish  Covenanters  were  laid. — This  Thomas  Dooglas 
was,  we  believe,  the  ancestor  of  the  present  worthj  and  ex* 
cdlent  James  Dooglas  of  Cavers,  a  man  who  has  been  so 
liberal,  in  devoting  much  of  his  wealth  towards  the  educa- 
tion, amelioration,  and  religious  improvement  of  his  fellow 


THOHAS  DU6LAS8IU8. 

Thomas  Duglassius,  antiqus  et  nobilis  Doglassiorum  de 
Cavers  familiae  filios,  civis  et  mercator  Edinburgensis,  tam 
familiam  qua  satns,  quam  dvitatem  cui  insitns  est,  hand 
parum  honestavit:  vita  et  moribus,  utraqne  dignus.  Tern* 
pore  turbido,  et  difficili,  inter  varios  factionum  sestus,  null! 
implidtus,  nee  ulli  invisus,  nee  otio  torpescens,  nee  nimis 
negotiosus.  Be  tamen  opima  qusesita,  honores  et  munera  in 
civitate  .fogit  magis  quam  ambiit,  nee  minus  meruit.  £t 
adeptus  somma  justitise  et  integritatis  laude,  bis  consul 
urbanus;  bis  etiam  subnrbanus  prsetor.  Demum  vitse  longi- 
oris  lustra  bis  septem  emersus,  omnibus  viri  pii  et  boni  civis 
officiis  in  familiam  et  necessarios,  ci^'itatem  et  pauperes, 
perfunctus,  placid^  obiit,  none  Augusti,  anno  sal.  hum. 
MDCLXSxn.  setatis  suse  LXX. 

Memoris  defmicti,  hoc  monumentum,  debitae  gratitndinis 
tessemm,  moerentes  posuerunt  Richardus  Duglassius,  Ro* 
bertus  Bennetus,  advocati  et  defiincto  consanguinei,  et  Ro- 
bertas Blackwood  senior,  mercator,  haeredes  ipsius  testa- 
mentarii. 

Translated  thus: 

Thomas  Douglas,  a  son  of  the  ancient  and  noble  family 
of  Cavers,  citizen  and  merchant  in  Edinburgh,  not  a  little 
city  into  which  he  was  engrafted,  by  his  life  and  deportment 
honoured,  both  the  ikmily  from  which  he  descended,  and  he 
well  worthy  of  both.  In  troublesome  and  difficult  times, 
amidst  the  various  heats  of  factions,  he  was  entangled  by 
none,  nor  ilHooked  upon  by  any. 


130  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

He  was  neither  slothful  throof^h  ease,  nor  too  busy;  yet 
having  acquired  an  opulent  fortune,  he  rather  shunned  offices 
and  honours  in  the  city,  than  desired  them,  whereby  he 
merited  them  the  more;  and  having  embraced  them,  he 
was  twice  city  baillie,  and  twice  suburban  baillie,  and  with 
the  greatest  applause  of  justice  and  integrity. 

At  last  having  arrived  at  a  considerable  age,  seventy 
years,  and  having  performed  and  discharged  all  the  duties 
of  a  godly  man  and  good  citizen,  towards  his  lineage  and 
relations,  towards  the  city  and  towards  the  poor,  he  departed 
in  peace  the  9th  day  of  August,  the  year  of  man's  salvation 
1686,  and  of  his  age  the  seventy. 

To  the  memory  of  the  deceased,  his  sorrowiul  cousins, 
Richard  Douglas  and  Robert  Bennet  advocates,  and  Robert 
Blackwood  elder,  merchant  in  Edinburgh,  his  testamentary 
heirs,  erected  this  monument,  as  an  evidence  of  their  grar- 
titude. 

Crowds  of  priests  flocked  to  Edinburgh  in  1688, 
a  college  of  Jesuits  was  established  at  Holyrood, 
and  the  Chapel  Royal  there  appropriated  to  their  use. 

The  Cameronians,  a  strict  Presbyterian  sect,  took  their 
name  from  Richard  Cameron,  who  was  cruelly  slain  at 
Aird*s  Moss  a  few  years  before.  They  had  disclaimed  the 
authority  of  both  Charies  and  James  as  tyrants;  they 
were  consequently  the  objects  of  James's  unmitigated  hatred, 
and  Renwick,  one  of  their  chief  ministers,  and  the  last  of 
the  Scottish  martyrs,  was  executed  at  Edinburgh,  as  here 
narrated: 

Btogtai^tt  Xottoe  of  Sfsmtn  Vitrtinitiu 

James  Renwick,  the  £eimed  Scottish  Covenanter, 

was  bom  at  Glencaim,  Nithsdale,  15th  February, 

1662.     Though  liis  father  was  a  weaver,  he  managed,  with 

some  diiBculty,  to  educate  his  son  at  the  University  of  Edin- 


▲NKAL&  131 

burgh.  Benwick  engaged  in  private  teaching  there,  but 
having  reftised  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance,  the  academical 
authorities,  for  a  time,  would  not  allow  him  to  laureate.  He 
became  attached  to  the  persecuted  Presbyterians,  who,  in 
thoee  days  were  hunted  like  wild  beasts. 

He  protested  against  the  accession  of  James  to  the  throne, 
and  two  years  afber,  a  reward  of  one  hundred  pounds  sterling 
was  offered  for  his  apprehension,  and  he  was  taken  in  Edin- 
burgh and  imprisoned  in  the  Tolbooth,  tried  and  sentenced 
to  death,  and  executed  at  the  Grassmarket,  17th  Feb.  1688. 

83|pe  #Ratt^r  #Roiminstit 

The  inscription  on  the  Martyrs*  Monument,  Gi^yfriars 
churchyard,  is  as  follows: 

^'From  May  27th  1661,  that  the  noble  Marquis  of  Ar- 
gyll  suffered,  to  the  17th  February  1688,  that  Mr.  James 
Ben  wick  suffered;  were  executed  at  Edinburgh,  about  one 
hundred  of  noblemen,  gentlemen,  ministers  and  others;  noble 
martyrs  for  Jesus  Christ:  the  most  part  of  them  lie  here: 

Halt  passenger,  take  heed  what  thou  dost  see, 
This  tomb  doth  shew  for  what  some  did  die. 
Here  lies  interred  the  dust  of  those  who  stood, 
'Gainst  perjur}'  resisting  unto  blood. 
Adhering  to  the  covenants  and  laws, 
Establishing  the  same;  which  was  the  cause 
Their  lives  are  sacrific'd  unto  the  lust 
Of  prelatists  abjured ;  tho*  here  their  dust. 
Lies  mix'd  with  murderers,  and  other  crew. 
Whom  justice,  justly,  did  to  death  pursue. 
But  as  for  these,  in  them  no  cause  was  found 
Worthy  of  death ;  but  only  they  were  sound, 
C!lonstant  and  steadfitst,  seaJous,  witnessing 
For  the  prerogative  of  Christ  their  King. 
Which  truths  were  seal'd  by  famous  Guthrie's  head. 
And  all  along  to  Mr.  Renwick's  blood. 


132  HISTOftY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

They  did  endure  the  wrath  of  enemies^ 
Reproeohesy  torments,  deaths,  and  injuries: 
But  yet,  they're  these,  who  from  such  troubles  came. 
And  now  triumph  in  glory  with  the  Lamb.** 

A  rapid  change,  of  the  political  drama  was  now 
about  to  take  place,  the  tyrant  James  was  dethroned, 
and  his  son-in-law,  William,  Prince  of  Orange,  the  hero  of 
the  Revolution,  nominated  to  the  vacant  crown. 

The  Presbjrterians  and  their  friends  repaired  to  Edinborgh 
from  all  quarters  of  Scotland,  and  the  Earl  of  Perth,  the 
Chancellor,  fled  from  the  city. — ^The  drums  were  beat — ^the 
inhabitants  assembled  in  multitudes,  and  proceeded  to  de- 
molish the  Chapel  Royal  of  Holyrood,  where  they  were  fired 
upon  by  some  hundred  men,  stationed  in  the  Abbey,  who 
still  adhered  to  the  interests  of  James.  They  then  fled,  but 
returned  with  a  warrant  from  some  of  the  Lords  of  the 
Privy  Council.    The  college  of  the  Jesuits  was  destroyed. 

The  Town  Council  presented  a  congratulatory  address  to 
William,  Prince  of  Orange,  28th  December,  1688,  express- 
ing the  satisfaction  and  joy  that  filled  their  hearts;  and 
offering  his  highness  their  service,  and  entreating  that  they, 
their  city,  persons,  and  privileges  might  be  placed  under  his 
protection.  The  Marquis  of  Athole,  the  next  oflicer  of  state 
to  the  Chancellor,  who  was  in  favour  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  assumed  the  reins  of  government,  and  on  his  leav- 
ing Edinburgh,  the  college  of  justice  armed  themselves  and 
maintained  tranquillity  in  the  city. 

The  notice  of  the  first  sale  of  books  by  auction  which  ever 
took  place  in  Scotland,  appeared  in  Edinbturgh,  at  the  end  of 
October,  1688.  The  announcement  was  made  by  Andrew- 
Anderson,  printer  and  bookseller,  and  was  in  the  following 
very  explicit  terms:  ^^A  catalogue  of  exceUent  and  rare 
books,  especially  histories  and  romances,  for  the  most  part 
in  English,  and  the  variorums,  to  be  sold  by  way  of  auction, 
the  twelfth  day  of  November,  1688. 


AKKAUS.  ]  33 

<<  The  books  are  to  be  seen  from  the  first  day  of  November 
to  the  day  of  the  aaction  at  Edinburgh,  on  the  south  side  of 
the  High  Street,  a  little  above  the  Cross,  being  the  close  im- 
mediately above  the  Fish-market  dose,  in  the  head  of  the  said 
close,  on  the  left  hand,  where  a  placat  ynil  be  on  the  gate, 
and  the  catalogues  are  to  be  had  there  gratU*  The  time  for 
sale  is  only  in  the  afternoon,  from  two  of  the  dock  till  four. 
Edinburgh,  printed  in  the  year  1688.  He  who  pays  not  his 
money  presently,  is  to  give  earnest,  to  take  them  away  and 
pay  his  money  before  the  next  day  the  auction  begins;  or 
else  to  lose  his  earnest,  and  the  books  to  be  put  to  sale  again. 
What  books  shall  happen  to  be  unsold  at  the  auction,  are 
to  be  bad  afterwards." — The  particularity  of  this  notice  is 
most  edifying.  There  seems  no  want  of  stringent  terms,  so 
that  the  materiel  of  literature  was  evidently  not  to  be  had 
in  Edinburgh  in  those  days  without  being  paid  for. 

We  can  imagine  the  dtizens  at  that,  the  very  period  of 
the  dawn  of  liberty  in  Edinburgh  and  Scotland,  when  the 
persecuting  days  of  the  Second  Charles  and  the  Seventh 
James  were  passing  away,  taking  their  early  dinners  at  one 
o'dock  and  then  wending  their  way  to  the  andent  High 
Street  of  Edinburgh  to  indulge  their  literary  taste ;  for  the 
first  time  gratified  with  such  a  sale  in  the  ancient  mefro- 
polis  of  Scotland,  which  for  centuries  had  been  the  scene  of 
war  and  bloodshed,  but  was  now  about  to  become  a  dis- 
tinguished mart  of  modem  literature. 

A  convention  of  estates  was  held  at  Edinburgh, 

1689 

14th  March,  1689,  where  it  was  dedared  that  James 
had  forfeited  his  right  to  the  Crown,  which  they  now  settled 
on  William  and  Mary.  They  also  ordered  a  new  election  of 
Magistrates  and  Coundl  for  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  and  this 
took  place  within  St.  Giles'  chturch,  by  the  poll  of  all  bur- 
gesses bearing  scot  and  lot,  on  the  11th  April,  bdng  the  same 
dav  that  William  and  Marv  were  crowned  at  Westminster. 
The  convention  of  estates  was  then  converted  into  a  Par- 
liament,— ^Prdacy  was  abolished,  and  the  Presbyterian  form 


134  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

of  cboxch  government  re-established.  Edinbnrgh  Castle  was, 
however,  retained  for  James  by  its  Governor,  the  Dnke  of 
Gordon. 

The  &mons  Claverhouse,  now  Viscount  Dundee,  having 
heard  that  there  was  to  be  an  attempt  to  assassinate  him,  left 
the  city  with  fifty  horsemen,  and  in  passing  the  Castle,  he 
climbed  up  the  rock  towards  the  north-west  comer,  and  held 
a  conference  with  the  Duke  of  Gordon.  The  remarkable 
occurrences  of  the  period,  and  the  novelty  of  this  strange 
interview,  drew  a  multitude  of  spectators,  and  it  was  bruited 
in  the  city  that  an  insurrection  of  the  adherents  of  Dundee 
had  taken  place — ^a  panic  ensued — the  drums  were  again 
beat— ^troops,  introduced  by  the  Duke  of  Hamilton  into  the 
city,  were  assembled— -the  members  of  Convention,  confined 
in  their  hall,  were  alarmed  at  the  noise  and  confiision — 
James'  friends  all  fled,  and  the  Castle,  which  had  been  be- 
sieged, surrendered  13th  June,  1689. 

The  new  government  were  so  jealous  of  the  college  of 
justice^  that  all  its  members  were  disarmed,  and  ordered 
under  severe  penalties  to  deliver  up  their  accoutrements  to 
the  Lord  Provost  of  Edinburgh. 

Btograyi^tc  fi^titt  of  Sbit  fieorge  %otk^axtf 
EotD  ^xtniOtnt  of  t|e  Court  of 


Sir  George  Lockhart,  son  of  Sir  James  Lockhart 

of  Lee,  passed  Advocate  in  Edinburgh  in  1656 ; 

two  years  after  he  was  appointed  Lord  Advocate,  and  was 

knighted  in  1663.     In  1681  he  pleaded  as  counsel  for  the 

Earl  of  Argyle. 

He  represented  the  county  of  Lanark  in  the  Scottish  Par- 
liament. In  1685  he~  became  Lord  President  of  the  Court 
of  Session,  and  was  considered  a  very  distinguished  law- 
yer. He  was  waylaid  and  murdered  by  John  Chiesley  of 
Dairy,  on  coming  from  church  in  Edinburgh  31st  March 
1689.     E(is  murder  excited  a  great  sensation. 


ANNAL&  135 

The    Trained  Bands  of  Edinbunrb   were  first 

1690 

instituted  in  1580,  and  re-organised  in  1626|  when 
tiie  Town  Council  resolved  that  the  citizens  should  be 
mustered  and  divided  into  eight  companies  of  two  hun- 
dred men  each;  and  in  1645^  it  was  arranged  that  they 
should  be  farther  divided  into  sixteen  companies,  commanded 
bjxten  merchant  and  six  trades'  captains,  and  the  city  also 
divided  into  sixteen  wards  or  departments.  Each  of  these 
companies  consisted  of  one  hundred  men.  In  1679,  a  city 
guard  of  forty  men  was  established ;  in  1682  this  was  aug- 
mented to  108  men,  and  after  the  Revolution  to  126. 

The  following  act*  was  passed  by  the  Scottish  Parliament 
in  1690,  entitled: 

"  ACT  in  favours  of  the  Toune  of  Edinburgh 
anent  their  Toune  Company. 

QUE  SOVEEAIGNE  LOED  &  LADY,  ConsideriDg 
that  be  the  152  Act  Pari  :  12  :  E  :  Ja  :  6th,  of  ever  blessed 
memorie,  all  the  Inhabitants  within  the  burgh,  whether  ad- 
mitted burgesses  or  not,  exerceing  traiSck,  or  haveing  change 
within  the  samen,  are  lyable  to  beare  their  part  of  all  taxes, 
stents,  watchings,  wairdings,  and  all  deuties  and  services 
touching  and  concerning  the  King  and  burgh;  and  it  hes 
been  frequentlie  found  more  conduceing  both  for  securing 
of  the  publick  peace,  and  the  ease  and  interest  of  ihe  inhabi- 
tants lyable  to  watch  and  waird  within  the  city  of  Edinburgh, 
That  the  same  be  guarded  by  a  company  of  trained  and 
experienced  souldiers;  than  that  the  inhabitants  be  with- 
drawne  from  their  employments  to  attend  the  same,  or  other- 
wayes  put  to  charges  to  hyre  unexpert  persones  to  supply 
their  absence,  whose  fidelity  might  not  safely  be  relyed  upon, 
especially  in  the  time  of  any  trouble  or  commotione  in  the 
countrey;  and  that  the  Magistrats  in  the  said  city  did 
raise  ane  company  of  eighty-seven  centiuells,  ane  scriver, 
three  corporalls,  three  drummers,  three  Serjeants,  and  two 

*  Acts  of  tlie  PttliAments  of  Sootlaod,  Tol  IX 


136  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

iievtennents,  the  25th  of  June,  1689,  and  declared  the  pre- 
sent Provost  captainei  which  company  have  contumed 
ander  constant  pay  ever  since ;  and  the  burgesses  and  in- 
habitants have  thereby  been  free  of  the  troable  and  charge 
of  watching  and  warding ;  and,  likewayes,  Their  Majesties 
considering  the  great  burthen  of  debts,  dew  by  the  good 
Tonne  of  Edinburgh,  and  that  their  common  good  is  not 
su£Scient  for  defrayeing  the  current  arent  of  these  debts  with 
the  charge  of  the  government  of  the  city,  and  incident  ex- 
penses, besyde  the  payment  of  the  said  company ;  and  that 
it  is  most  reasonable  that  the  burgesses  and  inhabitants  who 
are  thereby  liberate  from  the  ordinary  watching  and  warde- 
ing,  should  beare  the  burden  of  the  same  :  Therefore,  Their 
Majesties,  with  consent  of  the  estates  of  Parliament,  doe 
approve  of  the  raiseing  of  the  said  Company,  as  good  and 
acceptable  service  done  to  them,  and  for  the  weell  and  utility 
of  the  said  burgh;  and  doe  heirby  statute,  enact  and 
declare,  that  the  burgesses  and  inhabitants  lyable  in  watch- 
ing and  wairding,  are,  and  shall  be  obleidged  to  pay  the 
expenses  of  the  forsaid  company,  since  the  raiseing  thereof, 
to  the  first  of  July  instant,  which  expenses  since  they  were 
raised  to  the  said  day,  is  found  to  amount  to  the  soume  of 
ffourtein  thousand,  ffour  hundred,  ffiftie  four  pund  scots ; 
and,  in  likemanner.  Their  Majesties  with  consent  forsaid,  doe 
hereby  warrand,  impower,  and  authorize  the  present  Magis- 
trats  and  Council!,  and  their  successors  in  ofSce,  to  continue 
ane  company  of  trained  and  experienced  souldiers  within  the 
toune  of  Edinburgh,  under  pay,  not  exceeding  126  include- 
ing  the  foresaid  oiBcers ;  and  that  so  long  as  the  Magistrats 
and  council!  shall  think  fitt  from  tyme  to  tyme,  for  the  weell 
and  utility  of  the  place  and  inhabitants  thereof,  at  the  charge 
and  expenses  of  the  burgesses  and  inhabitants,  as  aforesaid  : 
which  company  shall  be  a  constant  guard  within  the  toune 
of  Edinburgh,  and  shall  not  be  obleidged  to  goe  above  et 
myle  without  the  city  and  liberties  thereof;  and,  whereof 
the  provost  for  the  tyme  shall  be  constant  captaine  without 


ANNALS.  137 

pay.  And,  to  the  eflfect  that  the  bturgesaes  and  inhabitants 
may  be  equally  stented  for  reimborsing  the  tonne  of  the 
sonme  of  ffonrtein  thousand,  ffour  hundred  ffiftie  four  punds 
scots,  dew  for  the  said  company,  preoeiding  the  first  day  of 
Joly  instant,  and  for  the  expenses  thereof  in  tyme  comeing ; 
It  is  hereby  statute  and  ordained,  that  the  Touoe  Coundll 
shall  with  all  diligence  make  choise  of  eight  swome  stent- 
masters,  ffour  merchants,  and  ffour  tradesmen,  who  shall 
stent  the  neighbours  for  the  forsaid  soume,  preoeiding  the 
first  day  of  July  next  to  come.  And  in  like  manner  the 
said  stentmasters  shall  stent  the  neighbours  for  the  quota 
of  a  company,  such  as  the  Magistrats  and  Toune  Councill 
shall  think  fitt,  to  remaine  for  ane  yeare  therafter,  not  ex- 
ceeding the  number  of  ane  hundreth  and  twenty-six,  includ- 
ing officers  and  the  whole  quota,  for  one  yeare,  not  exceed- 
ing the  soume  of  ffiftein  thoosand  punds  scots,  which  stent 
shall  not  exceed  the  soume  of  twenty  punds  scots  upon  any 
one  burges  for  himselfe  and  his  family,  for  one  whole  yeare. 
Which  stent  in  all  time  comeing,  shall  be  payable  quarterlie, 
and  in  case  of  not  punctuall  payment,  the  Magistrats  have 
power  and  liberty  summarily  to  cause  poynd  therefore,  and 
alsoe  the  said  stentmasters  shall  be  yearly  elected  in  manner 
forsaid ;  and,  further,  It  is  hereby  declared  that  soe  long  as 
the  said  company  continues  in  pay,  at  the  charge  and  ex- 
penses of  the  inhabitants  and  burgesses  in  manner  forsaid, 
that  they  shall  not  be  lyable  for  ordinary  watching  and 
warding,  without  prejudice  to  the  Magistrats  and  Councill, 
upon  any  extraordinar  occasione  or  emergent  to  call  out  the 
traine  bands  for  watching,  as  they  shall  think  fitt.  Declar- 
ing alsoe,  that  when  the  Magistrats  and  Councill  thinke  fitt 
to  disband  the  said  company,  that  the  burgesses  and  inhabi- 
tants shall  be  lyable  for  watching  and  warding,  as  is  pro- 
Tyded  by  former  Acts  of  Parliament ;  and,  particularly  by 
153  Act  Pari  :  12  :  E  :  Ja  :  6th,  which  Act  Their  Majesties 
with  consent  forsaid,  does  ratifie  and  approve  in  the  whole 
heads  and  clauses  thereof,  except  in  so  far  as  the  ordinary 


138  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

watching  and  wardeiog  is  discharged  by  this  present  act,  in 
the  case  above  mentioned  allennerlie.  It  is  alvrajes  hereby 
declared,  that  the  members  of  the  CoUedge  of  Jostice  shall 
nowayes  be  lyable  in  any  part  of  the  forsaid  expense,  but 
shall  be  exeemed  therefrae  conforme  to  their  former  privil- 
edges,  resenreing  also  to  the  officers  and  servants  of  the 
Mint  their  priviledges  and  immunities  as  accords." 

In  this  way  the  duty  of  watching  and  warding  in  Edinburgh 
was  merged  in  the  Town  Guard,  but  the  staff  of  the  Tmned 
Bands  was  afterwards  retained  onder  the  denomination  of 
the  Society  of  Captains,  Lieutenants,  and  Ensigns. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Scottish  Parliament,  held  at 

1690. 

Edinburgh,  20th  May,  1690,  it  was  ordered  that 
the  Clerk  register  should  cause  be  transcribed  a  copy  of  the 
Westminster  printed  Confession  of  Faith,  to  be  brought  in 
and  presented  in  Parliament  the  next  diet.  This  was  ac- 
cordingly done,  and  at  the  subsequent  meeting  of  Parlia- 
ment, on  the  26th  of  the  same  month,  the  record  of  said 
Parliament  bears,  that  ^^  The  Confession  of  Faith  under- 
\iTitten,  was  this  day  produced,  read,  and  considered  word 
by  word  in  presence  of  Their  Majesties,  High  Commissioner, 
and  the  Estates  of  Parliament,  and  being  voted  and  approv- 
en,  was  ordained  to  be  recorded  in  the  bookes  of  Parliament 
of  the  which  Confession  of  Faith  the  tenor  foUowes :" 

This  document  occupies  nearly  fifteen  pages  in  the  folio 
edition  of  the  Acts  of  the  Parliaments  of  Scotland,*  and  on 
7th  June,  the  same  year  at  Edinburgh,  another  act  t  of  the 
Scottish  Parliament  was  passed,  ^^  ratifying  the  Confession 
of  Faith,  and  settleing  Presbyterian  Church  Government  ** 
in  Scotland. 

Siogtayi^tc  Nottee  of  2fr  Ceotge  IKaritmf (r. 

Sir  George  Mackenzie  of  Rosehaugh,  known  by 
the  name  of  ^^  Bloody  Mackenzie,"  was  bom  in  1636. 

•  Vol.  EL  p,  117— ISU  t  n>id.  p.  133. 


ANNAL&  139 

He  passed  adyocate  in  1 659^  and  afWwards  represented  Boss- 
shire  in  Parliament  He  became  Lord  Advocate  in  1681, 
and  conducted  the  state  prosecutions  with  such  severity  as 
to  acquire  the  designation  of  the  Blood-thirs^  Advocate. 
He  lost  his  political  power  at  the  Revolution,  and  died  in 
London,  1692.  EUs  remains  were  brought  to  Holyrood- 
house,  whence  he  was  buried  in  the  Grejiriars  chnrchjard. 
There  is  an  elegant  ancient  mausoleum  still  existing  to  him 
there,  surrounded  bj  eight  columns,  and  surmounted  ^ath 
Corinthian  capitals. 

On  the  death  of  Mary,  the  Queen  Consort,  the 
Town  Council  addressed  king  William  in  condolence 
on  the  melancholy  occasion,  saying  that  their  hearts  were 
filled  with  sorrow  and  affliction,  and  stating  that  his  happy 
accession  to  the  throne  had  been  to  them  the  most  desirable 
and  comfortable  rehef  that  ever  happened  to  a  poor  city, 
otherwise  ready  to  perish  under  insupportable  burdens  and 
grievances. 

The  Bank  of  Scotland  was  established  in  Edinburgh,  in 
1695,  and  incorporated  by  royal  charter.  Previous  to  this 
there  were  no  banks  in  Edinburgh ;  a  few  rich  merchants 
had  booths  in  the  Parliament  >Square,  and  about  the  West 
Bow;  where  they  had  a  monopoly  of  the  whole  banking 
business  of  Scotland,  exchanging  money  or  lending  it  at  a 
high  rate  of  interest. 

Btograp^it  fiMUt  of  JTamra  ^alvipopUf 

James  Dalrymple,  Viscount  Stair,  the  learned  and 
well-known  author  of  the  Decisions,  was  bom  in 
Ajrrshire,  1619.  He  obtained  the  chair  of  Philosophy  at  Glas- 
gow in  1641.  He  was  knighted  by  Charles  U.  at  the  Restora- 
tion, and  appointed  a  Scottish  judge  in  1657.  He  became 
Lord  President  of  the  Court  of  Session  in  1671.    His  record 


140  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBUItOH. 

of  the  ^  Decisions'*  of  the  Scottish  Courts  appeared  in  Edin- 
borgh  in  1684 ;  and  his  ^^  Institutions  of  the  Law  of  Scot- 
land,'' is  another  of  his  works,  in  high  reputation.  In 
the  reign  of  William  and  Mary,  he  was  raised  to  the  peerage 
as  Viscount  Stair.  He  died  25th  Koyember,  1695,  and 
was  buried  in  St.  Giles's  Cathedral. 

Edinburxrh  appears  to  have  been  zealous  in  Kins 

1696  ^^ 

William's  interest,  for  at  this  time,  1696,  hearing  of 
a  conspiracy  formed  against  him,  and  an  intended  invasion 
in  favour  of  the  ex-king,  James;  the  Town  Council  resolved 
to  raise  a  regiment  for  the  King's  service  at  the  expense  of 
the  city.  With  this  they  acquainted  the  Privy  Council,  and 
sent  an  address  to  His  Majesty, — for  which  kind  service  he 
rendered  them  his  hearty  thanks. 

A  singularly  harsh  trial  took  place  in  Edinburgh,  in 

1697.  A  young  student  of  the  name  of  Aikenhead, 
aged  eighteen,  was  convicted  of  having  spoken  in  derision 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  and  was  executed  in  the  city. 
He  had  desired  a  short  reprieve,  which  was  reAised. 

The  Scottish  Parliament,  having  seen  the  danger 

to  which  Edinburgh  was  exposed,  both  in  regard 
to  fires  and  the  falling  of  tenements  from  the  great  height 
of  the  houses,  in  1698,  enacted,  that  no  buildings  to 
be  erected  in  the  city  in  future  should  exceed  five  stories  in 
height,  the  fix>nt  wall  in  the  ground  storey  to  be  three  feet 
thick ;  in  the  second,  two  feet  nine  inches ;  the  third,  two 
feet  six  inches ;  the  fouith,  two  feet  three  inches ;  and  the 
fifth,  two  feet. 

In  1695,  the  Marquis  of  Tweeddale,  the  King's  Com- 
missioner to  the  Scottish  Parliament,  promised  his  Majes- 
ty^s  patronage  to  a  proposal  for  establishing  a  Scottish 
Trading  company  to  Afiica  and  America. 

The  isthmus  of  Darien  was  chosen  as  the  locality  for  a 
settlement. — A  large  sum  of  money  was  subscribed,  and  the 
first  expedition  sailed  from    Leith,  in  July,  1698.      The 


ANKAL6.  141 

failure  of  this  enterprise  caused  great  discontent  in  Edin* 
borgh, — the  citizens  attributed  it  to  the  interfierence  of 
William  III. — Biots  took  place, — the  prison  was  broken 
open,  and  the  0£Bcers  of  State  left  the  city  in  consequence  of 
the  popular  indignation. 

''The  Edinburgh  Grasette"  printed  by  James 
Watson,  a  newspaper  of  two  small  folio  pages  and 
published  twice  a-week,  began  to  appear  2d  March,  1699. 

A  great  fire  took  place  at  the  north-east  comer  of 
the  Meal  Market,  about  10  o'clock  on  Saturday 
night,  3d  February,  1700,  and  all  the  great  pile  of  build- 
ings on  the  east  and  south  sides  of  the  Parliament  Square 
'or  Close,  with  the  Exchange,  were  burned  to  the  ground. 
It  was  computed  that  about  two  hundred  families  were 
dislodged  by  .this  disaster.  Some  of  the  national  records 
were  lost  or  destroyed  on  the  occasion. 

^^  Edvnburgliy  the  ItJi  day  of  February,  1100. 

'^  The  which  day,  the  Council  considering  the  sad  and 
deplorable  condition  of  the  neighbourhood  of  this  city,  oc- 
casioned by  the  late  dreadful  fire,  that,  upon  Saturday's 
night  last,  about  ten  of  the  clock,  brock  out  in  the  north- 
east comer  of  the  Meal-mercat,  and  consumed  to  ashes  all 
the  said  mercat,  all  the  statelie  buildings  of  the  deceast  Baillie 
Thomas  Robertson,  on  both  the  sydes  of  the  Elirkheugh,  the 
Exchange,  and  the  whole  Parliament  Closs,  except  the 
Treasury  House,  which,  by  great  Providence,  was  preserved, 
Doe  therefore  recommend  to  Baillie  Patrick  Johnstoun,  to 
call  for  the  Session  of  the  Old  Kirk,  and  to  take  up  a  list 
of  the  whole  families  who  have  suffered  bv  that  terrible  con- 
flagration,  to  the  effect  that  the  Council  may  know  what 
persons  are  liable  to  sustain  their  losses,  and  what  not,  that 
some  speedie  remedie  may  be  taken  for  their  relief,  and  re- 
commends to  the  said  Baillie  to  call  for  the  Collector  of  the 
Stent,  and  get  ane  accompt  of  the  valuation  of  the  whole 
brunt  lands  :  and,  in  like  manner,  the  Council  recommends 


1 42  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

to  the  present  Baillies  of  this  Citj^  Canongate,  Leith,  West 
Port,  Potterowy  and  hail  Saborbs,  to  cause  the  Constables 
in  their  bounds  to  make  a  dilligent  search  for  all  abstracted 
goods,  to  the  effect  they  may  be  secored  for  the  right 
owners  :  and  also  the  Council  recommends  to  the  Dean  of 
Guild,  to  accommodat  those  who  had  shops  in  the  Exchange 
with  Crames  in  the  ordinar  places,  there  to  continue  for 
some  time  during  the  Council's  pleasure  :  and  the  Council 
doe  nominat  and  appoint  Baillie  Johnstoun,  Ac.  &c.,  as  a 
Committee,  to  enquire  into  the  rise  and  progress  of  the  said 
dreadful  fire,  and  how  and  in  what  manner  the  I  jke  may  be 
prevented  in  tyme  coming."* 

In  1700  the  mail-coach  required  one  hundred  and  thirty* 
one  hours  to  perform  its  journey  from  Edinburgh  to  Lon* 
don.  A  century  and  a-half  later  the  distance  is  travelled 
by  railway  in  thirteen  hours. 

It  was  an  ancient  and  useful  custom  in  Scotland 
for  the  different  burghs  to  survey  their  boundaries  at 
intervals ;  and  it  was  attended  with  the  advantage  of  pub- 
licly marking  the  extent  of  their  property,  and  preventing 
encroachments  being  silently  or  stealthily  made  on  it  by 
any  neighbouring  proprietors.  The  last  riding  of  the  marches 
in  Edinburgh,  recorded  in  the  archives  of  the  city,  was  on 
15th  May,  1701,  in  which  the  boundaries  are  stated  with  tol- 
erable precision,  and  the  property  shown  to  be  very  extensive. 
As  it  is  interesting,  we  shall  here  give  the  details  : — 

About  nine  of  the  clock  in  the  morning,  the  caval- 
cade marched  out  at  the  Bristo  Port,  and  proceeded  to 
the  Windmillft  thence  to  Gaimshall  and  the  Sciennes, 
and  turning  westward  to  Bruntsfield  house,  proceeded  to 
Merchiston.  The  reason  of  their  taking  this  uncommon 
way  was  to  view  certain  encroachments  made  on  their  pro- 


•  Connoil  Begbter,  Vol.  txxTi. 

t  This  windmill  Appears  to  have  stood  at  the  soath  end  of  the  Potter- 
row,  and  was  erected  to  raise  water  for  the  Society  of  Brewers  from  the 
Soath  Loch  or  Meadows* 


ANNALS.  143 

per^',  whereas  the  oomxDOD  road  was,  after  having  marched 
out  at  the  Bristo  Port,  to  turn  westward  along  the  town 
wall  to  Portsbnrgh,  and  thence  to  Merchiston,  and  passing 
through  the  lane  on  the  southern  side  of  the  house,  wended 
southwards  through  Tipperlin  loan,  whence  returning  to 
the  Burgh  Muir  head  lane,  marched  through  it  to  the  vil- 
lage of  Egypt,  and  thence  eastward  to  the  cemetery  wall  of 
St.  BxKjue's  chapel,  and  proceeding  to  the  Grange  House, 
marched  through  Cant's  lane  to  Cameron,  and  thence  to 
Priestfield,  whence  passing  on  the  eastern  side*  of  the  Gal- 
lows, continued  their  march  to  Bedford  Hall  and  the  Crack- 
ling House,  and  proceeding  through  the  Pleasanoe  and 
St.  Mary's  Wynd  to  the  head  of  the  Canongate,  wended 
eastward  down  the  street  to  the  Water  Gate,  and  marching 
through  the  same,  proceeded  to  the  Abbey  Hill,  and  proceed- 
ing upwards  to  the  upper  Quarry  Holes,  and  the  stripe  or 
rill  which  crosses  the  way  from  Edinburgh  to  Leith,  thence 
to  the  Hawkhill,  and  from  the  Black  Craigs,  Fillieside, 
Brae-Leith,  and  its  citadel,  Newhaven,  and  Wardie  Brae, 
and  the  burn  or  brook  beyond  it,  where  the  march  is  a 
dyke,  and  returning  to  Kewhaven,  going  on  to  Bonning- 
ton  Mills,  the  Haugh-be-East,  the  Powder  Mill,  Canon- 
mills,  Stockbridge,  and  crossing  the  Water  of  Leith,  pro- 
ceed to  the  Dean,  and  back  by  the  Water  of  Leith,  thence 
to  Drumsheugh  and  St.  Cuthbert's  church,  town;  thence 
wending  eastward  along  the  northern  side  of  the  Nordloch 
to  its  eastern  extremity,  and  returning  back  to  the  said  St. 
Cuthbert's,  march  back  to  Edinburgh,  which  they  entered 
through  the  West  Port. 

The  Princess  Anne,  daughter  of  King  James  VII. 
was  proclaimed  Queen,  at  the  Cross,  on  the  death 
of  William  m.,  8th  March  1702. 

In  the  procession  to  welcome  her  Majesty's  Commission- 
ers to  Edinburgh  on  this  occasion,  were  the  Magistrates  in 

«  The  OMet  ToU  itwd. 


144  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBQH. 

their  robes,  forty  carriages,  and  twelve  hundred  people  on 
horseback. 

Daring  the  same  year  a  disturbance  took  place,  called 
Capt.  Green's  riot,  fiom  an  East  India  vessel,  of  which  he 
was  chief  officer,  having  arrived  in  the  Firth  of  Forth. 
Some  of  the  crew  were  convicted,  after  a  full  trial ;  of  piracy, 
aggravated  by  murder,  and  that  committed  on  the  master 
and  crew  of  a  Scottish  vessel. 

Intercessions  had  been  made  for  the  royal  mercy  on  their 
behalf,  but  the  populace  were  enraged,  and  on  the  day  ap- 
pointed for  the  execution,  a  mob  surrounded  the  prison, 
while  the  Privy  Council  and  Magistrates  were  deliberating 
whether  the  sentence  should  be  carried  into  effect.  The 
Lord  Chancellor's  carriage  was  stopped  at  the  Tron 
Church,  the  glasses  were  broken,  and  himself  dragged  out 
of  it ;  he  was  rescued  by  some  friends ;  but  the  anger  of  the 
multitude  had  to  be  appeased  by  the  blood  of  the  criminals. 
One  of  the  most  remarkable  state  processions  that 
were  wont  to  occur  in  the  Scottish  metropolis  was  the- 
opening  or  riding  of  the  Scottish  Parliament,  as  it  was  called. 
We  shall  present  our  readers  with  a  description  of  one  of  the 
last  that  was  held,  before  the  Union  took  place,  6th  May 
1703.  The  details  are  given  in  a  very  minute  and  graphic 
manner: 

The  streets  of  the  city  of  Edinburgh  and  Canongate  being 
cleared  of  all  coaches  and  carriages,  and  a  lane  formed,  by  the 
streets  being  inrailed  on  both  sides,  within  which  none  were 
permitted  to  enter  but  those  who  went  in  procession,  the 
captains,  lieutenants,  and  ensigns  of  the  trained  bands  ex- 
cepted. Without  the  rails,  the  streets  being  lined  with  the 
horse-guards,  from  the  palace  of  Holyrood-house ;  westwards 
af^  them  with  the  horse-grenadiers ;  next,  with  the  foot- 
guards,  who  covered  the  streets  up  to  the  Netherbow ;  and 
thence  to  the  Parliament  Square,  by  the  trained  bands  of  the 
city ;  from  the  Parliament  Square  to  the  Parliament  House, 
by  the  Lord  High  Constable's  guards ;  and  from  the  Parlia- 


ANNALS.  145 

ment  House  to  the  bar,  bj  the  Earl  Marshal's  guards ;  the 
Lord  High  Constable  being  seated  in  an  elbow-chair  at  the 
door  of  the  Parliament  House ;  the  officers  of  state  having 
rode  up  before  in  their  robes ;  and  the  members  of  Parlia^ 
ment,  with  their  attendants,  being  assembled  at  Holyrood- 
bouse,  the  rolls  of  Parliament  were  called  by  the  Lord 
Register,  Lord  Lyon,  and  Heralds,  fix)m  the  windows  and 
gates  of  the  palace,  from  which  the  procession  moved  to  the 
Parliament  House  in  the  following  order : — 

Two  tminpeten,  in  coats  and  banners,  bareheaded,  riding. 

Two  parBQivantfi,  in  coats  and  foot-mantles,  also  riding. 

Sixty-three  Conmiissionezs  for  Burghs  on  horseback,  covered,  two  and  two, 

each  haTing  a  lacquey  attending  on  foot,  the  odd  member  walking  alone. 

Seventy-seTen  Commissionen  for  Shires  on  horseback,  covered, 

two  and  two,  each  having  two  laeqnies  attending  on  foot 

Fifty-one  Lords  Barons  in  their  robes,  riding,  two  and  two,  each  having  a 

gentleman  to  support  his  train,  and  three  laeqnies  on  foot,  wearing 

above  their  liveries,  velvet  surtottts,  with  the  arms  of  their 

respective  Lords,  on  the  breasts  and  back,  emboesed 

on  plate,  or  embroidered  with  gold  and  silver. 

Nineteen  Viscounts  as  the  former. 

Sixty  Earis,  as  the  former,  foor  laoqoies  attending  on  each. 

Four  trumpets,  two  and  two. 

Four  pursuivants,  two  and  two. 

And  six  Heralds,  two  and  two,  bareheaded. 

Lord  Lyon,  King-at^Arms,  in  his  coat,  robe,  chain,  baton,  and  foot-mantle. 

Sword  of  State,  borne  by  the  Earl  of  Mar. 
The  Sceptre,  borne  by  the  Earl  of  Crawford. 

The  Grown, 
home  by  the  Earl  of  Forfar,  in  room  of  the  Marquis  of  Douglas. 
The  Purse  and  Commission,  by  the  Earl  of  Morton. 
The  Duke  of  Queensberry,  Lord  High  Commissioner, 
with  his  servants,  pages,  and  footmen. 
Four  Dukes,  two  and  two,  gentlemen  bearing  their  trains, 
and  each  having  eight  lacquies. 
Six  Marquises,  each  having  six  lacquies. 
The  Duke  of  Argyle. 
Captain  of  the  Horse  Guards. 
The  Horse  Guards. 

The  Lord  High  Commissioner  was  received  by  the  Lord  High  Constable, 
and  by  him  conducted  to  the  Earl  Marshal,  between  whom,  his  Grace, 
ushered  by  the  Lord  High  Chancellor,  was  conveyed  to  the  Throne.  When 
the  Parliament  rose,  the  procession  returned  in  nearly  the  same  order  to 
Holyrood-honse,  where  the  Members  were  magnificently  entertained  at 
supper  by  the  Lord  High  Conmiissioner. 


146  HISTORY  OP  EDINBUBGH. 

In  modem  days  perhaps  nothing  gives  so  well  the 
<<  very  form  and  pressnre  of  the  times,"  as  a  news- 
paper. Thoogh  the  art  of  printing  was  in  nse  in  Edinburgh 
daring  the  sixteenth  century,  Auld  Reekie  did  not  possess  a 
newspaper  till  1661,  when,  as  already  stated,  the  Mercuritta 
CaUdonius  appeared  for  a  short  period.  The  Couromt  news- 
paper, a  journal  well  known  to  all  the  citizens  of  Edin- 
burgh, started  into  existence  in  1705,  printed  on  a  single 
leaf  of  folio  foolscap  paper  as  it  is  technically  called.  This 
was  the  year  after  the  battle  of  Blenheim,  and  though  a 
good  deal  occupied  %vith  European  politics,  a  verbatim  copy 
of  the  first  number  of  the  Coorant  which  we  lay  before 
our  readers  in  next  appendix,  will  we  doubt  not  be  inter- 
eating.  It  was  begun,  as  the  imprint  shows,  by  James 
Watson,  published  twice  a-week,  and  sold  at  three  half 
pence  a  number.  Watson  published  fifty-five  numbei-s, 
and  then  transferred  it  to  Andrew  Anderson,  ^^  Printer 
to  the  Queen,  the  City,  and  the  College." 

The  proposal  of  a  union  between  England  and 
Scotland  was  very  unpopular  when  first  broached, 
however  prospectively  beneficial  to  both  countries ;  it  was 
evidently  calculated  to  be  in  the  meantime  injurious  to 
Edinburgh  as  a  capital  and  a  city,  and  it  excited  very 
dangerous  ferments  in  the  town.  Crowds  hooted  and  in- 
sulted the  Duke  of  Queensberry,  the  King*s  Commissioner, 
and  other  partizans  of  the  Union,  and  the  mob  attacked  the 
house  of  Sir  Patrick  Johnston,  the  late  Lord  Provost,  mem- 
ber of  Parliament  for  the  city,  and  in  the  course  of  the 
same  evening  they  became  masters  of  the  town,  and  a  rumour 
prevailed  that  they  were  going  to  close  the  gates.  The 
Duke  of  Queensberry  sent  military  to  take  possession  of  the 
Nether  Bow,  the  Pai*liament  Square,  and  the  lanes  and 
avenues  of  the  city,  and  the  riot  was  quelled. 

The   Regalia  of  Scotland  were  lodged  in    the 

Crown-room  of  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh  26th  March, 

1707,  and  the  Union  of  the  two  kingdoms  took  place  1st 


▲NKALS.  147 

May,  1707,  when  the  following  minute  and  accurate  instru- 
ment or  historical  document  regarding  the  depositing  of 
the  Kegalia,  was  taken. 

^  At  the  Castle  of  Edinburgh,  and  within  the  Crown-room 
there,  betwixt  the  hours  of  one  and  two  afternoon,  of  the 
26th  day  of  March,  in  the  vear  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  seventh  year  of  our  Lord,  and  sixth  year  of  the  reign 
of  her  Majesty,  Anne,  by  the  grace  of  God,  Queen  of  Scot- 
land, England,  France  and  Ireland,  Defender  of  the  Faith. 
*  The  which  day,  in  presence  of  us  notaries-pubUck,  and 
witnesses  under  subscribing,  compeared  personally  William 
Wilson,  one  of  the  under-clerks  of  Session,  Depute  Maris- 
chal,  for  himself,  as  procurator  for,  and  in  name  and  behalf 
of  William  Earl  Maiischal,  Lord  Keith,  and  Altrie,  &c. 
Great  Marischal   of  the  kingdom   of  Scotland,  heritable 
keeper  of  the   Begalia  thereof,  viz.  Crown,  Sceptre,  and 
Sword;  and  there  in  presence  of  David  Earl  of  Glasgow, 
Lord  Boyle,  &c  Lord  Treasurer  Depute,  who  for  himself, 
and  in  name  of  the  remanent  Lords  Commissioners  of  the 
Treasury,  were  present  to  receive  the  above  Begalia  the 
said  William  Wilson,  aiter  producing  and  reading  a  pro- 
curatory,  granted  by  the  said  noble  Earl  to  him,  of  the  con- 
tents therein  and  after  mentioned,  dated  and  registered  in 
the  books  of  Council  and  Session,  on  the  25th  dav  of  March 
instant,  did  also  produce  to  the  said  Lord  Treasurer  Depute 
a  schedule,  signed  by  him  and  us  notaries-publick  under 
subscribing,  containing  an  inventary,  and  particular  descrip- 
tion of  the  said  Regalia,  as  follows. 

The  Imperial  Crown  of  Scotland^is  of  pure  gold,  inriched 
with  many  precious  stones,  diamonds,  pearls,  and  curious 
ennamlings.  Its  parts  and  specifick  forms  are  these:  Prime. 
It  is  composed  of  a  large  broad  circle  or  fillet,  which  goes 
round  the  head,  adorned  with  twenty-two  large  precious 
stones,  viz.  topazes,  amethysts,  garnets,  emeraulds,  rubies, 
hyacinths  in  collects  of  gold  of  various  forms,  and  with  cu- 
rious ennamlings;  and  betwixt  each  of  those  collects  and 


148  HISTORT  OF  EDINBURGH. 

stones,  were  interposed  great  Oriental  peavls,  but  one  of 
them  is  now  wanting.  Seeundoy  Above  the  great  circle 
there  is  another  small  one,  formed  with  twenty  pointSi 
adorned  with  the  like  number  of  diamonds  and  sapphires 
alternatively,  and  the  points  are  topped  with  as  many  great 
pearls :  After  which  form  are  the  coronets  of  our  lords  barona. 
Tertio,  The  upper  cii'cle  is  elevate  or  heightened  with  ten 
crosses-floree,  each  being  adorned  in  the  centre  with  a  great 
diamond,  betwixt  four  great  pearls  placed  in  cross  saltire, 
1  and  1 ;  but  some  of  tlie  pearls  are  wanting;  and  the  num- 
ber extant  upon  the  upper  part  of  the  Crown,  besides  what 
are  in  the  under-circle  and  in  the  cross-patee,  are  fifty-one; 
and  these  crosses-floree  are  interchanged  with  other  ten 
high  fleurs  de  lis,  all  alternative  with  the  foresaid  great 
pearls  below,  which  top  the  points  of  the  second  small  circle. 
Nota,  This  is  said  to  be  the  ancient  form  of  the  Crown  of 
Scotland,  since  the  league  made  betwixt  Achaius  King  of 
Scots  and  Charles  the  Great  of  France. 

The  specifick  form  of  our  Crown  differing  from  other  im- 
perial Crowns,  in  that  it  is  heightened  or  raised  with  crosses- 
floree  alternatively  with  fleurs  de  lis»  The  Crown  of  France 
is  heightened  only  with  fleurs  de  lis,  and  that  of  England 
with  crosses-patee  alternatively  with  fleurs  de  hs. 

Our  Crown  of  Scotland,  since  King  James  YI.  went  to 
England,  has  been  ignorantly  represented  by  herauld  paint- 
ers, ingravers,  and  other  tradesmen,  after  the  form  of  the 
Crown  of  England,  with  crosses-pa  tee;  whereas  there  is 
not  one,  but  that  which  tops  the  mond,  but  all  crosses-floree, 
such  as  we  see  upon  our  old  coins,  and  these  which  top  our 
old  churches:  These  Crowns  were  not  antiently  arched  or 
close. 

Charles  YIII.  of  France  is  said  to  be  the  first  in  France 
who  took  a  close  Crown,  as  appears  -by  his  medals  coined  in 
the  year  1495,  being  designed  Imperator  Orientia.  Edward 
V.  of  England,  in  the  year  1483,  carried  a  close  Crown,  as 
is  observed  by  Selden;   and  our   Crown   is  arched  thus* 


AKKALS.  149 

QuartOj  From  the  upper  circle  proceed  four  arches,  adorned 
udth  ennamled  figures,  which  meet  and  close  at  the  top, 
sarmounted  with  a  mond  of  gold,  or  celestial  globe,  ennamled 
with  blue  semee,  or  powdered  with  stars  crossed  and  en- 
namled with  a  large  cross-patee,  adorned  in  the  extremities 
with  great  pearls  (such  a  cross  tops  the  church  of  Hol}Tood« 
house)  and  cantoned  with  other  four  in  the  angles.  In  the 
centre  of  the  cross-patee,  there  is  a  square  amethyst,  which 
points  the  fore-part  of  the  Crown ;  and  behind,  or  on  the 
other  side,  is  a  great  pearl;  and  below  it,  on  the  foot  of  the 
palar  part  of  the  cross,  are  these  characters,  J.  R.  Y.  by 
which  it  would  appear,  that  King  James  V.  was  the  first 
that  closed  this  Crown  with  arches,  and  topped  it  with  a 
mond  and  cross-patee. 

Yet  it  is  evident,  that  the  money  and  medals  coined  in 
the  reigns  of  King  James  III.  and  IV .  have  a  dose  Crown. 
And  'tis  no  less  clear,  that  the  arches  of  the  Crown  were 
not  put  there  from  the  beginning,  or  at  the  making  of  the 
Crown;  because,  Imo,  They  are  tacked  by  tacks  of  gold  to 
the  antient  Crown.  2do,  The  workmanship  of  the  arch  is 
not  so  good,  and  there  is  a  small  distinction  in  the  fineness 
betwixt  the  first  and  last,  the  latter  being  superfine  gold, 
and  the  other  not  so  exactly  to  that  standard,  whereof  trial 
has  been  made.  QuintOj  The  tire  or  bonnet  of  the  Crown 
was  of  purple  velvet;  but  in  the  year  1685,  it  got  a  cap  of 
crimson  velvet,  adorned  as  before,  ^^ith  four  plates  of  gold, 
richly  wrought  and  ennamled,  and  on  each  of  them  a  great 
pearl,  half  inch  in  diameter,  which  appears  between  the  four 
arches;  and  the  bonnet  is  turned  iip  with  ermine.  Upon 
the  lowest  circle  of  the  Crown,  immediately  above  the  er- 
mine, there  are  eight  small  holes,  disposed  two  and  t\^'o 
together  on  the  four  quarters  of  the  Cro^Mi,  in  the  middle 
space  betwixt  the  arches,  which  were  for  lacing,  or  tying 
thereto  diamonds  or  precious  stones.  The  Crown  is  nine 
inches  broad  in  diameter,  being  27  inches  about;  and  in 
height,  from  the  under-circle  to  the  top  of  the  cross-patee, 


150  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

six  inches  and  an  half:  It  always  stands  on  a  square  cushion 
of  crimson  velvet,  adorned  with  fringes  and  four  tassels  of 
gold  thread  hanging  down  at  each  comer/ 

The  Sc£ptr£. 

'  The  stem  or  stalk  of  the  Sceptre  being  silver  double 
overgilt,  is  two  foot  long  of  hexagon  form,  with  three  buttons 
or  knops  answering  thereto.  Betwixt  the  first  button  and 
the  second  is  the  handle  of  hexagon  form,  furling  in  the 
^middle  and  plain.  Betwixt  the  second  button  and  the  third, 
there  are  three  sides  engraven.  Upon  that  under  the  Vir- 
gin Mary,  one  of  the  statues  on  the  top  of  the  stalk,  is  the 
letter  J^  apon  the  second  side,  under  St.  James,  the  letter 
R,  and  on  the  third,  under  St.  Andrew,  the  figure  Y. '  The 
side  betwixt  J  and  B,  b  ingraven  with  fourteen  fleurs  de 
lis;  and  on  the  side  betwixt  the  figure  Y.  and  the  letter  J, 
are  ten  thistles  continued  firom  one  stem.  From  the  third 
button  to  the  capital,  the  three  sides  under  the  statues  are 
plain;  and  on  the  other  three,  are  antick  ingravings,  viz. 
sacramental  cups,  antick  Medusia's  heads,  and  rullion  foli- 
ages. Upon  the  top  of  the  stalk  is  an  antick  capital  of 
leaves  imbossed,  upon  the  abacus  whereof  arises  round  the 
prolonged  stem  surrounded  with  statues.  First,  That  of  the 
blessed  Virgin  crowned  with  an  open  Crown,  holding  in  her 
right-arm  our  blessed  Saviour,  and  in  her  left  a  mond  en- 
signed  with  a  cross. 

Next  to  her,  on  her  right-hand,  stands  the  statue  of  St. 
Andrew  in  an  apostolical  garment,  and  on  his  head  a  bonnet, 
like  a  Scots  bonnet,  holding  in  his  right-hand  a  cross  or 
saltire,  a  part  whereof  is  broken  off;  and  in  his  left,  elevate, 
a  book  open.  On  the  Blessed  Virgin's  left-hand  stands 
another  statae,  seeming  to  represent  St.  James,  with  the 
like  apostolical  garment,  and  a  hanging  neck  superadded 
thereto,  and  upon  his  head  a  little  hat,  like  to  the  Roman 
pileum;  in  bis  right-hand,  half  elevate,  a  book  open,  and  m 
his  left  a  pastoral  staff;  the  head  is  broke  off;  and  above 


ANNAUB.  151 

each  statue,  being  two  inches  and  an  half,  excepting  that  of 
the  Virgin,  which  is  a  little  less,  the  finishing  of  a  Gothic 
niche.  Betwixt  each  statne  arises  a  rollion  in  form  of  a 
dolphin,  very  distinct,  in  length  four  inches  foliage  along 
the  body  f  their  heads  upwards,  and  effit>nted  inwards,  and 
the  turning  of  their  tails  aiding  in  a  rose  or  cinquefoil  out- 
ward. Above  these  rulhons  and  statues  stands  another  hexa- 
gon button  or  knot,  with  oak  leaves  under  every  comer, 
and  above  it  a  chrystal  globe  of  two  inches  and  a  quarter 
diameter,  within  three  bars  jointed  above,  where  it  is  sur- 
mounted with  six  nillions;  and  here  again  with  an  oval 
frlobe,  topped  with  an  Oriental  pearl,  an  half  inch  diameter. 
The  whole  Sceptre  in  length  is  thirty-tour  inches.' 

The  Sword, 

'  The  Sword  is  in  length  five  foot,  the  handle  and  pommel 
are  of  silver  overgilt,  in  length  fifteen  inches;  the  pommel 
is  round,  and  somewhat  flat  on  the  two  sides;  on  the  iniddle 
of  each,  there  is  of  imbossed  work,  a  garland,  and  in  the 
centre  there  have  been  two  ennamled  plates,  which  are 
broke  off.  The  traverse  or  cross  of  the  Sword  being  of 
silver  overgilt,  is  in  length  seventeen  inches  and  an  half;  its 
form  is  like  two  dolpliins,  the  heads  joining,  and  their  tails 
ending  in  acorns;  the  shell  is  hanging  down  towards  the 
point  of  the  sword,  formed  like  an  escalop  flourished,  or 
rather  like  a  green  oak-leaf.  On  the  blade  of  the  Sword 
are  indented  with  gold  these  letters,  Julius  n.  P.  The  scab- 
bard is  of  crimson  velvet,  covered  with  silver,  gilded  and 
wrought  in  philagram  work,  into  branches  of  the  oak-tree 
leaves  and  acorns.  On  the  scabbard  are  placed  four  round 
plates  of  silver  overgilt;  two  of  them  near  to  the  crampet 
are  ennamled  blue,  and  thereon  in  golden  characters,  Julius 
II.  Pon.  MAX.  K.  At  the  mouth  of  the  scabbard,  opposite  to 
the  heck,  is  a  large  square  plate  of  silver,  ennamled  purple, 
in  a  cartouche  azure,  an  oak-tree  eradicated  and  fructuated 
or;   and  above  the  cartouche  the  papal  ensign,  viz.   Two 


152  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

keys  in  saldre  addossee,  their  bowls  formed  like  roses  or 
cinquefoilsy  tied  with  trappings  and  tessels  hanging  down. 
At  each  side  of  the  cartouche  above  the  keys,  is  the  papal 
tii'e,  invironed  with  three  crowns,  with  two  labels  tamed  ap, 
adorned  with  crosses. 

Pope  Jnlins  11.  who  gifted  the  Sword  to  E[ing  James 
IV.  had  for  his  armorial  figures  an  oak-tree  iructuated 
(which  is  the  reason  that  the  Sword  is  adorned  with  such 
tignres),  a  hill  and  a  star;  which  two  last  figures  I  find  not 
on  any  part  of  the  Sword.  If  they  have  been  on  the  two 
ennamled  plates,  which  are  lost  off  from  the  pommel,  I 
know  not;  but  'tis  certain,  this  Pope  had  such  figures,  as 
appears  by  these  verses  made  by  Yoltoh'ne,  a  famous  Italian 
poet,  as  the  same  are  mentioned  by  Hermanines  Hermes,  a 
German  writer,  who  gives  us  these  lines  found  in  a  mon- 
astery. 

Qaercna,  moos,  Stella  formant  tua  stemmata,  princepSf 
Hisqae  trilms  trinum  stat  diadema  tantn. 
Tata  Petri  mediis  navis  non  flectitar  nndia, 
Mods  tegit  i  Te&txs,  stellaque  monetcat  iter. 

And  thereafter,  upon  delivery  of  the  above  regalia,  to  the 
said  Lord  Treasurer  Depute,  and  upon  lodging  thereof,  with 
the  foresaid  description  of  the  same,  in  an  orderly  manner, 
in  a  chest  within  the  said  Crown  room;  the  said  William' 
Wilson,  as  procurator  for,  and  in  name  and  behalf  of  the 
said  William  Earl  of  Marischal,  and  in  the  terms  of  the  said 
procuratory,  protested,  that  the  delivering  up  of  the  regalia 
foresaid,  shall  not  invalidate,  or  be  prejudicial  to  the  said 
Earl  Marischal  his  heritable  right  of  keeping  thereof,  both 
in  time  of  parliament  and  intervals,  either  in  the  said  Earl 
his  castle  of  Dunnotter,  as  hitherto  his  ancestors  have  done, 
or  any  where  else  within  the  kingdom  of  Scotland,' that  his 
Lordship  and  his  successors  shall  think  secure  and  con-- 
venient. 

As  also,  in  the  terms  of  the  act,  ratifying  the  union  he- 
twist  the  kingdom  of  Scotland  and  the  kingdom  of  England ; 


AKKALS.  1 53 

whereby  it  is  stipulated  and  agreed  bj  both  parliaments, 
that  the  Crown,  Sceptre,  and  Sword  of  state  shall  be  con- 
tinued to  be  kept,  as  they  are  at  present  witliin  the  kingdom 
of  Scotland,  and  that  they  shall  so  remain  in  all  time  com* 
ing,  notwithstanding  the  union :  Protested,  that  they  shall 
remain  witliin  the  said  Crown  room  in  the  Castle  of  Edin- 
burgh; and  in  case  the  government  shall  find  the  trans- 
portation thereof  firom  Edinburgh  Castle  to  any  other  se- 
cure place  within  this  kingdom,  at  any  time  hereaf^  neces- 
sary: Protested  also,  that  the  same  may  not  be  done,  until 
intimation  be  made  to  the  said  £ai*l  Marischal  and  his  suc- 
cessors, to  the  effect  his  Lordship  or  they  may  attend,  and 
see  them  safely  transported,  and  securely  lodged. 

And  made  due  and  lawful  intimation  of  the  premisses  to 
CoUonel  James  Stewart,  Deputy  Governor  of  the  said  Cas- 
tle, then  pi*esent,  that  he  might  not  pretend  ignorance;  as 
also,  as  procurator  foresaid;  and  likewise  for  himself,  as  con- 
tinued keeper  of  the  said  regalia,  by  deputation  firom  the 
said  Earl  Marischal,  and  the  deceased  George,  Earl  Maris- 
chal his  father,  since  the  third  day  of  August,  1681,  in  the 
reigns  of  Eling  Charles  11.  King  James  VII.  King  WiUiam, 
and  Queen  Mary,  and  of  her  present  Majesty  Queen  Anne, 
declared,  that  the  same  are  now  delivered  to  the  said  David, 
Earl  of  Glasgow,  Lord  Treasurer  Depute,  for  himself,  and 
in  name  foresaid,  in  the  same  state,  case  and  condition  he 
then  received  the  same;  and  offered  to  give  his  oath,  that 
neither  he  the  said  William  Wilson,  nor  any  to  his  know- 
ledge,  has  ever  directly,  or  indirectly,  imbezeled  or  taken 
away  from  the  said  regalia,  any  of  the  jewels,  pearls,  or 
others  appertaining  thereto. 

And  therefore,  seeing  he  had  with  exact  care  and  con- 
tinued fidelity,  honestly  discharged  the  said  trust  reposed  in 
him,  -did  protest  to  be  liberate  and  exonered  for  his  admin- 
istration in  the  said  ofiice,  during  the  said  hail  bygone 
space;  but  prejudice  to  the  said  Earl  Marischal,  of  keeping 
the  same  in  all  time  coming,  as  formerly  by  himself,  and  the 


1 54  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUrvG  H. 

said  William  as  his  depute,  or  an j  other  whom  his  Lord- 
ship shall  appoint*  And  upon  all  and  sundry  the  premisses, 
the  said  William  Wilson  as  procurator  for,  and  in  name  and 
behalf  of  the  said  William,  Earl  Marischal;  asked  and  took 
instruments,  one  or  more,  in  the  hands  of  us  notaries-publick 
under  subscribing.  Thir  things  were  done  place  and  time 
above  mentioned,  before,  and  in  presence  of  Mr.  David 
Lesly,  son  to  the  Earl  of  Leven,  Governor  of  the  Castle  of 
Edinburgh,  Sir  James  jVIackenzie,  Kt.  and  Bart.  Clerk  of 
the  Treasury,  and  many  other  witnesses  needless  to  be  men- 
tioned; as  are  also  the  attestations  of  divers  publick  notaries 
to  the  said  deed  or  instrument.'  *' 

The  royal  Insignia  remained  so  long  immured  in  this 
room,  that  doubts  began  to  exist  if  they  were  actually  there, 
and  Amot,  writing  his  history  of  Edinburgh  at  a  much  later 
period,  remarks,  ^^  that  in  one  apartment  of  the  Castle  called 
the  Crown  room,  it  is  pretended  that  the  regalia  of  Scotland 
are  deposited.  That  they  were  lodged  there  with  much  for- 
mality on  the  26th  of  March,  1707,  is  certain,  whether  they  be 
still  there  is  very  problematical.  If  they  be,  nothing  at  least 
can  be  more  absurd  than  tlie  way  in  which  they  have  been 
kept.  The  way  to  preserve  an  object  of  great  value  is  not. 
to  lock  it  up  for  ever  from  the  eyes  of  the  public;  quite  the 
reverse.  It  is  by  producing  it  at  stated  times,  before  cer- 
tain o£Scers,  as  representing  the  public.  Now,  since  the  re- 
galia were  deposited,  no  Governor  of  the  Castle,  upon  his 
admission,  has  made  inquiry  if  they  were  left  secure  by  his 
predecessor.    No  mortal  has  been  known  to  have  seen  them.'* 

Btograpltr  ^titt  of  goffn  Salr^mvle, 
S^lxnt  extl  of  Stam 

John  Dalrymple,  first  Earl  of  Stair,  was  bom 

1648,  passed  advocate  1672.    He- was  accused  of 

not  having  levied  sufficient  fines  from  his  tenantry  for  their 

having  attended  Conventicles,  and  was  imprisoned  for  three 


ANNALS.  155 

months  in  the  Tolbooth  of  Edinbnrfrh,  1684.  Two  yean 
afterwards  he  became  Lord  Advocate,  and  in  other  two 
Tears,  Lord  Jnstice  Clerk.  He  was  Secretary  of  State  in 
1691,  and  as  such  his  name  is  historically  connected  with 
the  odious  massacre  of  Glencoe.  He  resigned  this  office  in 
1695,  Parliament  having  declared  that  he  then  exceeded  his 
instructions.  He  succeeded  his  father  as  Viscount  Stair, 
1695,  and  in  1703  was  created  Earl  of  Staur.    He  died  1707. 

John   Hamilton,   Lord   Belhaven,  was  bom  in 

1 708. 

1656.  He  was  a  man  of  high  patriotic  and  inde* 
pendent  views.  In  1681  he  was  imprisoned  in  Edinburgh 
Castle  for  having  opposed  the  Test  Act.  He  strenuously 
resisted  the  Treaty  of  Union  in  1707  in  some  eloquent 
speeches.    He  died  in  1708. 

He  was  distinguished  for  his  resistance  to  all  the  tyran- 
nical and  persecuting  measures  of  Charles  U.  in  Scotland. 
His  ^'  Memorable  speeches  in  the  last  Parliament  of  Scot- 
land **  were  pubhshed  in  1706,  and  reprinted  in  1733. 

In  1709  the  Town   Council  ordered  a  salary  of 
£300  sterling  to  be  paid  to  Sir  Patrick  Johnston  as 
their  representative  in  Parliament. 

The  celebrated  Daniel  Defoe,  the  author  of  Ro- 
binson  Crusoe,   became   editor   of  the   Edinburgh 
Courant  newspaper  in  1710,  and  that  under  the  official  au- 
thority of  the  Town  Council,  as  appears  by  the  following 
municipal  ordinance : 

"  Att  Edinburgh  the  first  day  of  February 
jm  vijc  and  ten  years  : 

"  The  same  day  The  Councill  authorized  Mr.  Daniel  De- 
foe to  print  the  Edinburgh  Currant  in  place  of  the  deceast 
Adam  Bog  Discharging  hereby  any  other  person  to  print 
News  under  the  name  of  the  Edinburgh  Currant.^ 


156  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

The  first  number  of  the  Edinburgh  Cauranty  edited  bv 
Defoe,  bears  the  following  title :  '^  The  Edinburgh  Courant, 
with  the  Fi-eshest  Advises,  Forreign  and  Domestick.  Pub- 
lished bj  authority.  Monday,  ^larch  20th,  1710/'  The 
imprint  was  as  follows:  ^^ Edinburgh,  Printed  by  John 
Moucur,  for  the  Undertakers,  and  to  be  sold  at  Mr.  John 
Johnston's  House,  almost  at  the  foot  of  Mowbray's  Closs, 
at  the  Netherbow.** 

Siosravt^te  Xotitt  of  Sis  ^sAtvt  SHAuU. 

Sir  Robert  Sibbald  was  educated  first  at  the  XJni- 

1711. 

versity  of  Edinburgh,  and  then  at  Leyden,  where 
he  took  his  medical  degree  in  1661,  and  resided  long  in 
Edinburgh  and  the  neighbourhood.  He  was  distinguished 
as  a  physician,  a  botanist,  and  an  antiquary.  He  was 
knighted  by  Charles  H.,  to  whom  he  was  physician.  He 
was  commanded  by  the  king  to  write  a  history  of  all  the 
Counties  of  Scotland,  but  only  finished  the  ^^  History  of 
Fife,''  which  was  published  in  1710.  Sibbald  was  distih- 
gmshed  as  a  naturalist,  and  along  with  Sir  Andrew  Balfi>ur, 
was  the  founder  of  a  public  Botanic  garden  at  Edinburgh. 
He  died  1711.  ^lany  learned  papers  he  read  to  the  Royal 
Society,  were  collected  and  published  after  his  decease,  en- 
titled Treatises  concerning  Scotland,  as  it  was  of  old  and 
also  in  later  times.  Tlie  famous  Scottish  antiquarian.  Sir 
Robert  Gordon  of  Straloch,  was  his  fellow-labourer  in  many 
of  these  learned  researches. 

In  1713  the  Royal  Company  of  Archers,  the  body 
guard  of  the  Sovereign,  was  incorporated  by  Royal 
Charter  firom  Queen  Anne. 

Biogtayi^fo  Votitt  of  9t.  IS^xt^vbnXO  yittatm. 

Dr.  Archibald  Pitcaim,  a  celebrated  Edinburgh 
physician,  was  born  there  in  1652.     He  took  his 


▲KliALS.  157 

degree  at  Edinburgh  University  in  1671.  For  a  short  time 
he  filled  the  Chair  of  Physic  at  Leyden  Universityy  bat 
settled  again  in  Edinburgh  as  a  medical  practitioner.  He 
was  considered  the  first  physician  of  his  day,  and  wrote 
works  on  various  subjects  both  in  prose  and  verse.  He  was 
distinguished  as  an  author  for  wit  and  humour.  Pitcaim 
died  at  Edinburgh  in  1713. 

In  July  1714,  immediately  preceding  the  demise 
of  Queen  Anne,  an  alarm  prevailed  that  the  Gov- 
ernment would  take  measures  to  place  the  Pretender,  the 
Chevalier  St.  George,  son  of  James  U.,  on  the  throne ;  and 
thus  defeat  the  succession  of  the  House  of  Hanover.  To 
show  the  fallacy  of  this  statement,  the  Ministry  issued  a 
proclamaUon,  ofi'ering  a  reward  for  the  apprehension  of  the 
Pretender,  and  on  this  occasion  the  Town  Council  and 
citizens  forwarded  a  loyal  address  to  the  Queen. 

On  the  death  of  Queen  Anne,  George  I.  was  proclaimed 
King  of  Scotland,  England,  and  Ireland,  at  the  Cross  of 
Edinburgh,  August  1714 ;  and  on  9th  September,  the  Lord 
Provost,  Magistrates,  and  Council  addressed  the  first  Sov- 
ereign of  the  House  of  Hanover,  expressing  their  joy  on 
the  occasion. 

Biograp^u  §LtxX\tt  of  Btof^oti  Bumtt 

1715.        ^"^"^^  ^""^^  ^^'^''P  ""^  Salisbury,  the  author 
of  the  "  Historj-  of  his  own  Times,"  was  bom  at 

Edinburgh,  18th  September  1643.    His  father  was  a  Lord 

of  Session  under  tlie  titular  designation  of  Lord  Crimond, 

and  his  mother  was  a  sister  of  Sir  Archibald  Johnston, 

Lord  Warriston.   His  fiiends  wished  Gilbert  to  be  educated 

for  the  law,  but  the  church   was  his  choice.     He  was 

ordained  by  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh  in  1665,  and  was 

for  some  years  a  most  exemplary  clergyman  at  Saltoun  in 

East  Lothian.     He  was  appointed  to  the  Di^inity  chair  in 


158  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

Glasgow  in  1669.  He  became  Bishop  of  Salisbaiy  in  1689, 
and  daring  the  reign  of  William  and  Marv  was  one  of  the 
Qneen's  principal  advisers.    He  died  in  1715. 

Btogta^i^te  Votit$  of  flttwtpal  eaxntaixu. 


1715. 


William  Carstairs,  Principal  of  the  University  of 
Edinburgh,  was  bom  at  Cathcart  near  Glasgow 
1649.  He  became  a  pupil  at  the  University  of  Ediuborgh 
in  1668;  he  afterwards  studied  at  Utrecht.  He  was  accused 
of  being  a  party  to  the  Rye  House  plot,  and  was  tried  in 
Edinburgh,  and  put  to  the  torture. 

On  his  return  to  Holland  in  1685,  he  was  appointed  one 
of  the  Chaplains  to  the  Prince  of  Orange.  He  became  a  great 
favourite  with  his  Serene  EQghness,  and  accompanied  him 
to  Britain  at  the  Revolution  in  1688,  and  he  was  the  most 
active  person  in  getting  the  affairs  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land settled  after  that  event,  which  was  done  by  the  Par- 
liament of  Scotland  in  1690  embodying  the  Westminster 
Confession  of  Faith  in  an  act  of  Parliament,  and  in  July 
the  same  year  abolishing  Patronage.  He  was  appointed 
Principal  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh  in  1704,  and 
from  being  minister  of  Greyfriars  Church,  he  was  trans- 
lated to  the  High  Church  of  Edinburgh  a  few  years  after. 

Carstairs  was  a  remarkable  man  alike  in  politics,  litera- 
ture, and  in  the  church.  He  died  in  1715,  and  was  buried 
in  the  Greyfriars  churchyard.  His  letters  and  state  papers 
were  published  in  1774. 

The  Town  Council  received  a  letter  from  the  Duke  of 
Montrose,  one  of  the  Secretaries  of  State,  25th  July  1715, 
informing  them  that  the  Eang  had  intimated  to  Parliament 
that  the  Pretender,  the  son  of  James  VH.,  intended  to  in- 
vade the  British  dominions,  and  recommending  to  the  Ma- 
gistrates to  take  particular  care  of  the  peace  of  the  city. 

Prior  to  that,  on  1st  February,  John  Graham  and  others 


ANNALB.  159 

bad  been  indicted  for  leasing  making  and  alanderooB  speeches 
tending  to  excite  sedition,  and  the  corpus  cUUcti  was  drink- 
ing the  Pretenders  health  at  the  Tron  Church  as  James 
VIII.,  and  a  happy  restoration  to  him.  One  of  them, 
Crawford,  was  found  guilty  and  fined  £50  sterling. 

The  Town  Council  now  resolved  to  put  the  city  into  a 
better  state  of  defence ;  they  added  to  the  number  of  the 
Town  Guard,  and  appointed  a  committee  of  safety,  and  dis- 
tributed arms  among  the  citizens,  who  were  to  be  trained 
in  military  exercises.  They  also  ordered  the  sluice  of  the 
North  Loch  to  be  shut  for  raising  the  water  in  it,  as  a  de- 
fence on  that  side  of  the  town.  They  had  trenches  made, 
and  erected  several  forts,  and  repaired  the  town  wall,  and  laid 
in  stores  of  provisions,  in  case  of  an  attack.  Greneral  Mack- 
intosh  crossed  the  Firth  of  Forth  with  about  1,500  men,  and 
was  advancing  towards  Edinburgh  when  he  heard  of  these 
preparations,  and  airaid  of  an  attack  from  the  Duke  of 
Argyle,  remained  but  a  short  while  in  Leith,  of  which  he 
had  possessed  himself.    He  retreated  to  East  Lothian. 

The  Duke  of  Axgyle  having  defeated  the  Jacobite  *  troops 
under  the  command  of  the  Earl  of  Mar,  at  Sheriflmuir, 
near  Dunblane,  13th  November  1715,  *and  the  rebellion 
being  speedily  quelled;  the  Council  in  March  1716, 
caused  the  gates  of  the  city  to  be  taken  down,  the 
new  trenches  levelled,  and  the  barricades  removed.  The 
expense  incurred  by  Edinburgh  on  this  occasion  amounted 
to  £1,736  sterling,  which  was  afterwards  defrayed  by  Gov* 
emment. 

The  last  time  of  riding  the  marches  appears  to 

have  been  in  the  year  1717,  when  tlie  cavalcade 

was  conducted  in  a  very  showy  and  pompous  manner.     The 


*  The  phrase  ^  Jacobite  "  had  its  origin  from  the  name  of  the  deposed 
sovereign  being  James;  he  died  in  1701,  and  his  eldest  son  **the  Pre- 
tender" of  1715,  being  also  James,  served  to  perpetuate  the  phrase.  To 
this  day  in  Scotland  ther  speak  of  the  Jacobite  songs  and  ^e  Jacobite 
minstRdsj,  tfaas  designating  the  songs  in  favonr  of  the  Pretender^ s  family. 


160  HISTORT  OF  EDINBURGH. 

Magistrates  and  Council  were  attended  bj  the  principal 
citizens  and  chief  officers  of  the  town,  together  with  the 
Bailies  and  officers  of  Leith,  and  of  the  suburban  districts 
of  Canongate,  Portsbnrgh,  and  Potterrow,  and  the  officers 
of  the  city  trained  bands,  and  bands  of  music,  all  sump- 
tuously apparelled  and  mounted  on  stately  horses,  well  ac- 
coutred. 

In  1718  there  was  a  threatening  of  a  Spanish  in- 
vasion in  aid  of  the  Pretender,  and  the  Town  Coun- 
cil oi*dered  the  city  to  be  put  in  a  better  state  of  defence, 
and  augmented  the  number  of  the  town's  company  of  Fu- 
sileers. 

The  Old  Greyfiiars  Church  was  originally  built  with  a 
spire,  which  was  used  for  the  strange  purpose  of  a  powder 
magazine.  The  spire  was  burned,  7th  May  1718,  and  was 
never  afterwards  rebuilt. 

At  this  period  the  Magistrates  of  Edinburgh  were  dis- 
tinguished by  wearing  black  velvet  coats,  for  which  they 
were  allowed  £10  each,  and  the  Lord  Provost  was  allowed 
a  salary  of  £300. 

Notwithstanding  the  settlement  of  the  disputes 

1721. 

between  the  merchants  and  trades'  part  of  the 
citizens  by  the  Decreet-Arbitral  of  James  VI.  in  1583,  new 
points  of  difference  appear  to  have  arisen,  and  the  trades 
now  insisted  that  as  one  of  their  deacons  had  long  borne 
the  title  of  Conyeiter,  he  ought  to  be  received  by  the 
Town  Council  in  that  character,  and  they  also  claimed  some 
other  privileges.  These  claims  led  to  an  action  before  the 
Court  of  Session  between  the  merchants  and  trades,  and 
after  several  years  of  litigation,  both  parties  agreed  to  sub- 
mit their  differences  to  Archibald  Earl  of  Hay,  after- 

1729. 

wards  Duke  of  Argyle,  who  pronounced  a  Decreet- 
Arbitral  which  settled  all  these  disputes,  and  along  with 
James  VI.'s  Decreet-Arbitral  of  1583,  ruled  the  municipal 
elections  to  the  period  of  the  Burgh  Befbrm  Bill  in  1833. 
Lord  Hay's  Decreet-Arbitral  will  be  found  among  the  His- 


▲NNAL&  161 

torical  Docoments  appended  to  this  second  part  of  the 
Historj  of  Edmbiirgh« 

By  the  census  of  1722  the  population  of  Edin- 
bur^  was  40,420.^ 
The  Borongb-loch,  which  lies  to  the  south  side  of  Edin- 
burgh, seems  originally  to  have  been  a  loch,  and  called  the 
South  loch  in  contradistinction  to  the  North  loch  on  the 
other  side  of  the  town.  It  was  commenced  to  be  drained 
about  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  in 
1658  it  was  let  to  a  person  of  the  name  of  Straton,  ^itii 
Its  marshes  for  nineteen  years,  at  the  annual  rent  of  one 
thousand  pounds  Scottish  money.  In  1722,  it  was  let 
to  Thomas  Hope,  on  a  lease  of  fifty-seven  years,  at  the 
rent  of  eight  hundred  pounds  Scottish,  he  engaging  to 
drain  the  said  loch  and  to  make  a  walk  round  it  twenty- 
four  feet  broad,  enclosed  with  a  hedge  and  a  double  row 
of  trees,  and  a  walk  across  from  north  to  south  thirty  feet 
broad,  with  two  rows  of  lime  trees  and  a  narrow  canal  on 
each  side.  This  was  the  origin  of  Hope's  Park  as  it  was  long 
called,  or  the  Meadows  which  has  been  its  more  modem 
designation:  a  place  well  knov^ni  as  a  healthful  scene  of 
recreation  for  the  children  residing  in  the  southern  part  of 
Edinburgh — and  aged  citizens  retired  from  the  more  active 
cares  of  life.  And  here  occasionally  septuagenarian  military 
heroes  used  to  meet  in  a  forenoon  walk  and  fight  theii*  battles 
o'er  again : 

"  And  thrice  they  slew  the  slain!" 


0Jititt  of  jram00  WM%on. 

James  Watson,  for  a  long  period,  the  principal 

newsmonger  of  Edinburgh,  and  the  author  of  the 

History  of  Printing  in  Scotland,  was  a  native  of  Aberdeen. 

He  removed  to  Edinburgh  in  1695,  where  he  carried  on 

*  In  1801  it  had  doubled,  being  then  82,500. 

L 


162  HISTORY  OF  EDDCBCTRGH. 


as  a  printer,  and  biooght  oat  the  Edinburgh  Gazette. 
In  171  ly  he  was  appointed  printer  in  Edinburgh  to  Queen 
Anne.  In  1715,  he  printed  two  Bibles  of  great  typogra- 
phical beautjr.     Watson  died  in  1722. 

Bfogroy^tr  ^sMtt  ut  l.orD  JFitrantadii^alL 

Sir  John  Lauder,  Lord  Fonntainhall;  an  eminent 

lawyer,  was  bom  in  Edinburgh  1646.  He  passed 
adrocate  1668,  and  began  to  record  that  part  of  the  decisions 
of  the  Court  of  Session,  afterwards  published  as  ^  Fountain- 
hall's  Decisions."  He  acted  as  counsel  for  the  Earl  of  Ar- 
gyle  in  16^1.  He  was  one  of  the  assessors  for  the  city  of 
Edinburgh.  In  1685,  he  was  member  of  parliament  for 
Haddingtonshire.  He  was  appointed  a  Lord  of  Session  in 
1689,  and  died  in  1722. 


In  1725  a  fire  broke  out  in  the  Lawnmarket.  The 

1725 

damage  done  was  rery  considerable,  and  a  sum  of 
about  £1,000  was  raised  for  the  sufferers. 


Hinq^nafyit  §Mtitt  of  VUxwOn  NnAtt. 

Alexander  Nesbit,  the  celebrated  antiquary  and 
writer  on  heraldry,  was  bom  in  Edinburgh  1672. 
His  father  was  Lord  President  of  the  Court  of  Session. 
Besides  his  antiquarian  works  he  published  a  Collection  of 
the  Decisions  of  the  Court  of  Session  1653  to  1687.  l^ia 
principal  work,  the  ^'  Sjrstem  of  Heraldry,"  was  published 
at  Edinburgh — the  first  volume  in  1722,  and  the  second 
after  his  death.    He  died  in  1725. 

.  On  the  accession  of  George  H.  to  the  throne  in 

1727,  the  Magistrates  presented  a  congratulatory 

address.      His  son,   Frederick,  Prince  of  Wales,  at  that 

time  held  the  additional  title  of  Duke  of  Edinburgh,  which 

is  alluded  to  in  the  same  document. 


▲KNAL8.  1 63 

BiofpcafHtit  Notte  of  Snimt  IBimlias, 
%Btb  ftrntetotu 

Bobert  Dundas  of  Amiston  was  educated  as  a 

-  17»7. 

Ifi^eTy  and  followed  a  similar  career  to  his  fiuher,  the 
first  Lord  Amiston,  bj  being  member  of  parliament  for  the 
shire  of  Edinburgh/ and  also  in  1689  bdng  raised  to  the 
bench  as  Lord  Amistoni  which  he  adorned  with  honour 
and  integrity  daring  the  lengthened  period  of  thirty-seven 
years.     He  died  1727. 

Siograiilir  Notire  of  gamtn  fttiBmuni. 

James  Anderson,  son  of  Patrick  Anderson,  one 

1728. 

of  the  persecuted  Presbyterian  ministers  at  Edin- 
bui^hy  was  bom  there  in  1662,  and  educated  at  Edinburgh 
University.  In  1691  he  passed  Writer  to  the  Signet.  In 
1705  be  published  an  ^^  Essay  showing  that  the  crown  of 
Scotland  is  Imperial  and  Independent;"  for  this  he  received 
the  thanks  of  the  Scottish  Parliament.  In  1715  he  was 
appointed  Postmaster-General  for  Scotland.  His  ''Ck>l- 
lections  relating  to  the  History  of  Queen  Mary/'  appeared 
in  1727.  He  died  in  1728,  and  his  extensive  work  with 
engravings  of  the  charters,  seals,  and  coins  of  the  Scottish 
monarchs,  was  published  in  1739,  entitled,  '^  Selectus  Diplo- 
matum  et  Numismatum  Scotia  Thesaurus." 

Btograjii^tc  Notice  of  gn^n  iato* 

John  Law  of  Laoriston,  the  famous  financial  spe* 

1729. 

culator,  was  the  son  of  an  Edinburgh  goldsmith, 
and  was  bom  in  the  city,  1671.  He  succeeded  to  the 
estate  of  Lauriston,  in  the  vicinity  of  Edinburgh,  on  his 
father's  death.  After  many  speculative  scliemes  he  went  to 
France,  and  became  Comptroller-General  of  the  Finances 
there.     He  died  in  poverty  at  Venice  in  1729. 


164  mSTOBT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

Bfograp^  Notte  of  Satiirl  9tfot. 

The  distmgnished  writer  Daniel  Defoe,  was  bom  in 
1663.  One  of  his  first  productions  was  ^'  The  Tme 
Bom  Englishman  "  in  1701,  which  attracted  the  favonrable 
notice  of  Eling  William  m.  In  1706,  he  published  a 
^^  Vindication  of  the  Union  with  Scotland."  As  already  nar- 
rated, he  became  editor  of  the  Edinburgh  Qourant  in  1710, 
and  resided  for  a  period  in  the  capital  of  Scotland.  fiOs 
Bobinson  Crusoe  appeared  in  1719,  perhaps  the  most  cele- 
brated work  of  fiction  in  English  literature,  founded  on 
the  real  history  of  Alexander  Selkirk,  a  native  of  Largo, 
in  Scotland.  He  was  one  of  the  most  voluminous  and 
industrious  writers  in  the  English  language.  He  died  in 
1731- 

Biogtayi^te  Xottte  of  tS^oman  HonUnu 

Thomas  Boston,  the  famous  author  of  the  Faitrfold 

1782. 

Static  was  bom  at  Dunse,  1676.  He  became  a 
student  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh  1691,  where  he 
continued  for  three  consecutive  sessions,  and  in  the  winter 
1695-6  he  attended  the  Divinity  Hall  there.  He  was 
licensed  as  a  preacher  in  1697.  He  was  ordained  minister 
of  Simprim  in  1699,  and  was  translated  to  Ettrick  in  1707. 
He  took  an  active  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Greneral 
Assemblies  of  the  Scottish  Church.  Hia  popular  work,  the 
F(yurfold  StaUy  a  book  which  used  to  be  in  the  hands  of 
most  of  the  Scottish  peasantry,  was  published  in  1720.  He 
died  at  Ettrick,  2d  May  1732,  where  there  is  a  handsome 
obelisk  erected  to  his  memory. , 

A  very  remarkable  event  in  the  history  of  Edin- 
burgh took  place  in  the  year  1736.    Two  men,  Wil- 
son and  Robertson,  were  condemned  to  death  for  robbing  the 
Collector  of  Excise  at  Pittenweem,  and  according  to  the 


ANKALa  165 

custom  followed  with  condemned  criminals^  tbej  were  taken 
on  the  Sabbath  prior  to  their  intended  execution  to  hear 
sermon  at  the  Tolbooth  Church. 

When  the  aodience  were  departing^  Wilson  seized  one 
of  tlie  gaards  with  each  hand^  and  a  third  with  his  teeth, 
calling  to  his  fellow  culprit  to  make  his  escape,  which  he  did. 
Wilson  now  became  an  object  of  public  ^^pathr,  and  the 
Magistrates  afiraid  of  a  riot,  and  an  attempt  to  rescue  the 
prisoner  on  the  day  of  his  execution,  supplied  the  dtv 
guard,  under  Captain  Porteous,  with  baU  cartridge.  The 
crowd  having  thrown  stones  at  the  executioner  and  the 
Town  Guard,  after  the  sentence  had  been  inflicted  at  the 
Grassmarket,  Captain  Porteous  rashly  ordered  his  men  to 
fire;  by  which  six  people  were  killed,  and  eleven  wounded. 
Porteous  was  tried  for  murder  and  condemned. 

George  II.  being  then  in  Hanover,  Queen  Caroline,  who 
was  Regent,  granted  a  respite  to  the  convict,  but  such  was 
the  feeling  of  the  people  against  Porteous«  that  they  deter- 
mined he  should  suffer  in  spite  of  the  royal  clemency. 

They  assembled,  7  th  September  1736,  the  night  previous 
to  that  which  had  been  fixed  for  his  execution,  and  shut  the 
gates  of  the  City,  seized  the  Town  Guard,  and  opened 
the  prison.  The  Magistrates  in  vain  endeavoured  to  quell 
the  riot.  The  people  marched  with  torches  to  the  Grass- 
market, — opened  a  shop  in  the  West  Bow,  and  took  out 
ropes  for  which  they  left  money,  and  hanged  Porteous  on  a 
dyer^s  post,  near  the  spot  where  the  people  had  been  killed. 

Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  his  '  Heart  of  Mid-Lothian,'  gives 
an  accurate  and  interesting  account  of  the  Porteous  mob. 
His  description  of  the  old  City  Guard-house  where  the  insur- 
gents went  to  procure  arms  is  veiy  graphic — ^It  stood  in  the 
middle  of  the  High  Street  below  the  Cross.  He  remarks  that 
it  was  a  long,  low,  ugly  building,  which  to  a  fanciful  imagi- 
nation might  have  suggested  the  idea  of  a  long  black  snail 
crawling  up  the  middle  of  the  High  Street,  and  deforming 
its  beautiful  esplanade.     Then  again  his  description  of  the 


166  HISTORY  OP  EDINBUBGH. 

neighboorhood  of  the  Parliament  Square,  St.  Giles'  Cathe- 
draly  with  the  adjoining  narrow  lane  of  odd-looking  shops 
which  many  of  onr  readers  will  recollect  existing  there  with 
the  old  Luckenbooths  adjoining,  is  extremely  interesting  to 
those  whose  minds  are  sensitively  alive  to  the  changes  made 
on  old  Edinburgh.  Sir  Walter  describes  one  of  his  char- 
acters as  passing  through  the  narrow  and  partly  covered 
passage  leading  from  the  north-west  end  of  the  Parliament 
Square,  and  standing  before  the  Gothic  entrance  of  the 
ancient  prison  of  Edinburgh,  which  was  called  the  Heart  of 
Mid-Lothian,  and  reared  its  ancient  front  in  the  middle  of 
the  street,  '^  forming,  as  it  were,  the  termination  to  a  huge  pile 
of  buildings  called  the  Luckenbooths,  which  for  some  incon- 
ceivable reason,  our  ancestors  had  jammed  into  the  midst  of 
the  principal  street  of  the  town,  leaving  for  passage  a  nar- 
row street  on  the  north ;  and  on  the  south,  into  which  the 
prison  opened,  a  narrow  crooked  lane,  winding  betwixt  the 
high  and  sombre  walls  of  the  Tolbooth  and  the  adjacent 
houses  on  the  one  side,  and  the  buttresses  and  projections  of 
the  old  Cathedral  upon  the  other.*'  He  adds,  that  to  give 
some  gaiety  to  this  sombre  passage,  well  known  by  the  name 
of  the  Krames,  our  forefathers  had  erected  a  number  of 
bizarre  little  booths  or  shops,  after  the  manner  of  cobblers* 
stalls,  plastered  as  It  were  against  the  Gothic  projections  and 
abutments,  so  that  it  seemed  as  if  these  traders  occupied  with 
nests,  every  buttress  of  the  building.  These  booths.  Sir 
Walter  remarks,  had  ^^  degenerated  into  mere  toy-shops, 
where  the  little  loiterers  chiefly  interested  in  such  wares 
were  tempted  to  linger,  enchanted  by  the  rich  display  of 
hobby-horses,  babies,  and  Dutch  toys,  arranged  in  artfol 
and  gay  confusion;  yet  half-scared  by  the  cross-looks  of  the 
withered  pantaloon,  or  spectacled  old  lady,  by  whom  these 
tempting  stores  were  watched  and  superintended." 

When  accounts  of  this  formidable  riot  were  received  at 
Court,  it  was  alleged  that  Queeq  Caroline  was  so  indignant 
that  she  threatened  to  turn  Scotland  into  a  hunting  field, 


▲NKAL&  167 

and  that  the  Duke  of  Argyle  told  her  in  that  case  it  was 
time  he  was  off  to  prepare  his  hounds. 

Severe  measures  were  taken  against  Edinburgh,  and  a 
royal  proclamation  was  issued,  offering  a  pardon  to  any  ac* 
complice  and  a  reward  of  £2009  f<>^  ^^  discovexy  of  those 
concerned  in  the  riot.  This  proclamation  was  ordered  to  be 
read  firom  the  pulpits  in  Edinburgh  on  the  first  Sunday  of 
each  month  for  a  year.  The  reading  of  this  was  unpopidar 
both  mth  the  clergy  and  the  people,  and  one  city  minbter  fell 
upon  the  ingenious  expedient  of  stating  to  his  congregation, 
when  he  had  concluded  the  ordinary  public  services  of  the  day, 
that  he  had  a  Boyal  Proclamation  which  it  was  imperative 
on  him  to  read  from  the  pulpit,  but  he  did  not  find  that 
they  were  bound  to  remain  to  hear  it, — ^he  would  therefore 
pause  a  few  minutes  before  commencing.  During  this  space 
the  audience  all  took  their  departure,  leaving  Queen 
Caroline's  proclamation  to  sound  through  the  empty  church. 

All  the  efforts  of  government  to  discover  the  guilt}' 
parties  were  unavailing.  The  whole  affair  had  been  con- 
ducted with  the  most  consummate  secrecy  and  skill,  and 
was  viewed  as  of  such  importance,  that  Smollett,  in  his  con* 
tinuation  of  Hume's  History,  gives  the  following  accoimt  of 
the  proceedings  in  ParUament  regarding  it: 

"  The  minister,  Lord  Carteret,  referred  to  the  atro- 

1737. 

cious  murder  of  Captain  Poiteous,  as  a  flagrant  in- 
sult upon  tlie  government,  and  a  violation  of  the  public 
peace,  so  much  the  more  dangerous,  as  it  seemed  to  have 
been  concerted  and  executed  with  deliberation  and  decency. 
He  suspected  that  some  citizens  of  Edinburgh  had  been 
concerned  in  the  murder;  not  only  from  this  circumstance, 
but  likewise  because,  notwithstanding  the  reward  of  two 
hundred  pounds,  which  had  been  offered  by  proclamation 
for  the  discovery  of  any  person  who  acted  in  that  tragedy, 
not  one  individual  had  as  yet  been  detected.  He  seemed  to 
think  that  the  Magistrates  had  encouraged  the  riot,  and  that 
the  city  had  forfeited  its  charter;  and  be  proposed  a  minute 


168  mSTOBT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

enqoiry  into  the  particalars  of  the  affair.  He  was  seconded 
by  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  and  the  Earl  of  Bay;  though  this 
last  nobleman  difiered  in  opinion  with  him  in  respect  to  the 
charter  of  the  city,  which,  he  said,  could  not  be  jostlj  for- 
feited by  the  fault  of  the  Magistracy.  The  lords  resolved. 
That  the  Magistrates  and  other  persons  from  whom  they 
might  obtain  the  necessary  information  concerning  this  riot 
should  be  ordered  to  attend;  and  that  an  address  should  be 
presented  to  his  Majesty,  desiring  that  the  different  accounts 
and  papers  relating  to  the  murder  of  Captain  Porteoos 
might  be  submitted  to  the  perusal  of  the  house.  These 
documents  being  accordingly  examined,  and  all  the  wit- 
nesses arriyed,  including  three  Scottish  judges,  a  debate 
arose  about  the  manner  in  which  these  last  should  be  in- 
terrogated, whether  at  the  bar,  at  the  table,  or  on  the  wool- 
sacks. Some  Scottish  lords  asserted,  that  they  had  a  right 
to  be  seated  next  to  the  judges  of  England:  but  after  a  long 
debate  this  claim  was  rejected,  and  the  judges  of  Scotland 
appeared  at  the  bar  in  their  robes.  A  bill  was  brought  in 
to  disable  Alexander  Wilson,  Esquire,  Lord  Provost  of  Ed- 
inburgh, from  enjoying  any  office  or  place  of  Magistracy  in 
the  city  of  Edinburgh,  or  elsewhere  in  Great  Britain;  for 
imprisoning  the  said  Alexander  Wilson;  for  abolishing  the 
guard  of  that  city;  and  for  taking  away  the  gates  of  the 
Nether-bow-port,  so  as  to  open^  a  communication  between 
the  city  and  the  suburbs,  in-  which  the  King's  troops  are 
qaartered.  The  Duke  of  Argyle,  in  arguing  against  this 
bill,  said  he  could  not  think  of  a  proceeding  more  harsh  or 
unprecedented  than  the  present,  as  he  belieyed  there  was 
no  instance  of  the  whole  weight  of  parliamentary  indigna- 
tion, for  such  he  called  a  proceeding  by  a  bill  ex  poBt  factOy 
falling  upon  any  single  person,  far  less  upon  any  community 
for  crimes  that  were  within  the  reach  of  the  inferior  courts 
of  justice:  for  this  reason  he  observed,  that  if  the  Lord  Pro- 
vost and  citizens  of  Edinburgh  should  suffer  in  the  terms  of 
the  present  bill,  they  would  suffer  by  a  cruel,  unjust,  and 


AKKALB.  169 

fimtastical  proceeding;  a  proceeding  of  which  the  worst  use 
might  be  made,  if  ever  the  nation  should  have  the  misfortune 
to  fall  under  a  partial,  self-interested  administration.  He 
told  them  he  sat  in  the  Parliament  of  Scotland  when  that 
part  of  the  trea^  of  Union  relating  to  the.privileges  of  the 
royal  burghs  was  settled  on  the  same  footing  as  religion; 
that  is,  they  were  made  unalterable  by  any  subsequent  par- 
liament of  Great  Britain.  Notwithstanding  the  eloquence 
and  warmth  of  his  remonstrance,  the  bill  was  sent  down  to 
the  House  of  Commons,  where  it  produced  a  violent  contest. 
The  Commons  set  on  foot  a  severe  scrutiny  into  the  parti- 
cular circumstances  that  preceded  and  attended  the  murder 
of  Porteous:  firom  the  examination  of  the  witnesses  it  ap- 
peared that  no  freeman  or  citizen  of  Edinburgh  was  con- 
cerned in  the  riot,  which  was  chiefly  composed  of  country 
people,  excited  by  the  relations  of  some  unhappy  persons 
whom  Porteous  and  his  men  had  slain  at  the  execution  of 
the  smuggler;  and  these  were  assisted  by  'prentice-boys 
and  the  lowest  class  of  vagabonds  that  happened  to  be  at 
Edinburgh :  that  the  Lord  Provost  had  taken  all  the  pre- 
cautions to  prevent  mischief  that  his  reflection  suggested : 
that  he  even  exposed  his  person  to  the  rage  of  the  multitude, 
in  his  endeavour  to  disperse  them;  and  that,  if  he  had  done 
amiss,  be  erred  from  want  of  judgment  rather  than  from 
want  of  inclination  to  protect  the  unhappy  Porteous.  It 
likewise  appeared  that  ^ir.  Lindsay,  member  for  the  city  of 
Edinburgh,  had  gone  in  person  to  General  Moyle,  com- 
mander of  the  forces  in  North-Britain,  informed  him  of  the 
riot,  implored  his  immediate  assistance,  and  promised  to 
conduct  his  troops  into  the  city;  and  that  his  suit  was  re- 
jected, because  he  could  not  produce  a  written  order  from 
the  Magistracy,  which  he  neither  could  have  obtained  in 
such  confusion,  nor  ventured  to  carry  about  his  person 
through  the  midst  of  an  enraged  populace.  The  Scottish 
members  exerted  themselves  with  uncommon  vivacitv  in 
defence  of  theii*  capital.     Lord  Polwartb  declared,  that  if 


170  HISTOEY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

any  gentleman  would  show  where  one  argument  in  the 
charge  against  the  Lord  Provost  and  the  city  of  Edinburgli 
had  been  provedy  he  would  that  instant  give  his  vote  for  the 
commitment  of  the  bill.  He  said,  if  gentlemen  would  lay 
their  hands  upon  their  hearts,  and  ask  themselves,  whether 
they  would  have  voted  in  this  manner  had  the  case  of  Edin- 
burgh been  that  of  the  city  of  Bristol,  York,  or  Norwich,  he 
was  persuaded  they  would  have  required  that  every  tittle  of 
the  charge  against  them  should  have  been  fully  and  un- 
deniably proved." 

The  clauses  for  imprisoning  the  Lord  Provost,  abolishing 
the  city  Guard,  and  removing  the  Nether-bow-port,  were 
left  out,  and  a  fine  of  two  thousand  pounds  imposed  on  the 
city,  for  the  benefit  of  Porteous'  widow.  Li  the  House  of 
Commons  the  remarkable  circumstance  of  an  equal  number 
voting  on  each  side,  on  reporting  the  bill  as  amended,  oc- 
curred. The  casting  vote  of  the  chairman  was  given  for  the 
bill,  and  it  then  passed  the  House  of  Peers  as  modified,  and 
received  the  royal  assent. 

To  prevent  any  similar  riots  in  Edinburgh  in  future,  the 
Town  Council  ordained  that  on  the  first  appearance  of  any 
disturbance,  without  waiting  for  alarm  bell  or  other  warning, 
all  the  public  bodies  and  companies  of  the  city  should  im- 
mediately assemble  at  the  Council  Chamber  to  receive  in- 
structions for  their  guidance  in  preserving  the  peace  of 
the  city. 

The  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Sbot- 
land,  held  at  Edinburgh  in  1722,  passed  an  act 
which  seemed  to  infiinge  on  the  right  of  members  of  con- 
gregations to  call  their  own  pastors.    Ebenezer  Erskine, 
one  of  the  ministers  of  Stirling,  protested  against  this. 

The  Established  Church  adopted  proceedings  against 
Erskine,  and  finally  in  1740  deposed  him  and  several  other 
clergymen,  who  had  already  seceded  firom  the  Establish- 
ment, under  the  name  of  the  Associate  Presbytery. 

This  was  the  origin  of  the  large  body  that  now  exists  as 


AHnAlS.  171 

the  United  Presbyterian  chnrch  in  Edinborgh  and  throngh- 
oat  Scotland — though  for  a  long  period  thej  existed  as  two 
separate  bodies,  Burghers  and  Anti-Bnrghers,  differing  on 
the  lawfUness  of  a  clause  in  the  Bnrgess  oath. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1740,  the  weather 
was  very  seyere, — a  great  scarcity  of  victnals  was 
experienced  in  Edinburgh,  and  coak  were  with  difficulty 
brought  into  the  town.  The  Magistrates,  aided  by  private 
and  public  contributions,  purchased  grain,  which  they  dis- 
tributed to  the  poor  at  easy  rates.-^Money  was  lent  by  the 
banks  to  the  Magistrates  without  interest,  and  Mr.  Coutts, 
the  individual  who  first  established  the  well  known  banking 
house  of  Sir  William  Forbes  &  Co.,  and  others  imported 
grain,  which  they  delivered  to  the  city  at  prime  cost.  In 
this  way  the  distress  was  much  alleviated ;  but  a  bad  harvest 
intervening,  prices  became  uncommonly  high,  and  the  people 
unfortunately  broke  into  tumult,  plundered  several  granaries 
at  Bell's  Mills  and  Leith  Mills,  and  were  not  restrained  till 
the  military  were  called  out  and  fired  on  the  mob. 

In  Februaxy  1744,  the  Marquis  of  Tweeddale,  one 
of  the  Secretaries  of  State  for  Scotland,  and  the  last 
who  held  that  office,  sent  a  letter  to  the  Lord  Provost,  in- 
timating that  His  Majesty  had  advices  that  great  pre- 
parations were  making  in  France  to  invade  Britain  in  behalf 
of  the  Pretender,  whose  eldest  son,  Prince  Charles  Edward, 
was  expected  to  head  an  expedition;  and  requesting  the 
Majgistrates  to  take  all  due  precautions  for  preserving  the 
public  tranquillity. 

This  letter  was  duly  responded  to;  but  in  the  fol- 
lowing year,  one  of  more  decisive  import  arrived  from 
the  same  authority.    It  was  received  by  Archibald  Stewart, 
then  Lord  Provost  and  Member  of  Parliament  for  the  dty, 
and  was  as  foUows : 


172  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

Whitehall,  I3th  Augutt,  1745. 

Mr  Lord, 

Their  Excellencies,  the  Lords  Justices, 
having  received  intelligence  that  the  Pretender^s  son  is  al- 
ready landed,  or  intendbog  to  land  in  Scotland,  have  recom- 
mended it  to  me  to  give  you  notice  thereof;  that  you  may  ex- 
ert your  care  and  vigilance  on  this  occasion,  and  make  use 
of  such  precautions  as  you  shall  judge  necessary  for  preserv- 
ing the  public  peace  within  the  bounds  of  your  jurisdiction  ; 
I  am,  my  Lord,  your  Lordship's  most  humble  Servant, 

TWEXDDALE. 

King  George  11.  was  then  on  a  visit  to  Hanover. 

The  Lord  Provost  transmitted  the  following  reply  to  the 
Marquis  of  Tweeddsde's  letter :  ^'  My  Lord,  I  received  the 
honour  of  yours  of  the  13th  current,  and  'tis  with  pleasure  I 
assure  your  Lordship,  that  this  town  was  never  better  affect- 
ed, nor  more  peaceable  than  at  present.  Nothing  shall  be 
neglected  on  my  part,  to  preserve  the  people  in  their  duty 
towards  their  king  and  their  country ;  and  we  trust  in  God 
that  no  threatened  danger  shall  ever  reach  us.  At  the  same 
time,  we  are  not  to  sit  down  in  security,  but  will  keep  a 
watchful  eye,  in  order  to  prevent,  as  far  as  it  is  in  our 
power,  everything  that  may  disturb  the  peace  of  this  place. 
I  beg  you'll  believe  me  to  be,  with  the  highest  and  most  pro- 
found respect,  &c., — ^Archibald  Stewart.'' 

EoiNBUROH,  nth  Augusty  1745. 

There  was  a  species  of  romance  attending  this  expedition 
of  Prince  Charles  Edward  Stuart,  which  has  invested  it 
with  a  certain  charm  in  history,  and  associated  his  name 
with  Scottish  song  and  the  Jacobite  relics  of  Scotland. 

Contrary  to  the  advice  of  his  friends,  he  landed  in  Scot- 
land, almost  entirely  destitute  of  money  and  troops,  endea- 
vouring to  regain  the  throne  of  his  ancestors.  After  a  fort- 
night's voyage,  his  vessel,  the  Doutelle,  arrived  near  the 


AKNAUa  173 

Islet  of  Erisca,  between  Baira  and  South  Uist,  and  he 
landed  in  Moidart  on  5th  Anguaty  1745)  accompanied  only 
by  the  Marqnis  of  TuUibardine  and  six  other  friends ;  they 
were  afterwards  called  the  seven  men  of  Moidart,— ^and  he 
raised  the  Highland  standard  at  Glenfinnan,  on  the  19th 
of  the  same  month,  the  anniversaxy  of  that  day  on  which 
his  progenitor,  Maxy  Qaeen  of  Scots,  nearly  two  centimes 
before,  landed  at  Leith,  also  from  France. 

Sir  John  Cope  commanded  the  Royalist  troops  in  Edin- 
burgh at  this  period,  and  on  the  same  day,  19th  August,  left 
the  city  for  the  North  to  meet  the  insurgents.  For  some 
time  the  citizens  felt  considerable  anxiety  about  the  result 
of  his  encountering  the  Highland  troops,  though  they  had 
little  fear  about  their  own  capital.  Meanwhile,  Prince 
Charles'  Highland  followers  increased,  and  avoiding  an  en- 
gagement with  Cope,-— or  Cope  avoiding  an  engagement 
'  ^-ith  him — he,  with  great  activity  and  spirit,  descended  upon 
the  Lfowlands  by  Perth,  crossing  the  river  Forth  by  the  ford 
of  Frew,  a  few  miles  above  Stirling.  On  the  16th  Sep- 
tember, he,  with  his  army,  reached  Linhthgow,  and  on  the 
following  morning  proceeded  towards  Edinburgh.  On  ar- 
riving at  Corstorphine,  three  miles  from  the  city;  to  avoid 
the  guns  of  the  Castle  he  diverged  by  a  road  in  a  southern 
direction,  towards  the  village  of  Slateford,  and  his  men 
bivouacked  in  a  field  called  Gray's  park.  From  the  com- 
mencement of  the  month  of  September,  the  citizens  of  Ed- 
inburgh had  become  seriously  alarmed  about  the  state  of 
affairs,  and  preparations  for  the  defence  of  the  capital  were 
commenced. 

At  that  time,  the  city  was  partly  surrounded  by  a  wall 
and  partly  by  the  North  Loch.  The  town  wall  was  repaired 
with  the  utmost  expedition,  heightened  in  some  places,  and 
castellated  in  others,  and  wooden  floors  were  laid  in  various 
parts  of  the  bulwarks  whereon  to  mount  artillery;  a  sub- 
scription was  opened  for  volunteers,  to  which  many  of  the 
citizens  contributed,  and  others  enlisted  in  a  regiment  of  one 


174  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

thousand  foot  which  was  forming.  Of  this  regiment  the 
liOT^  Provost  was  appointed  colonel.  On  the  13th  Sep- 
tember,  the  trained  bands  were  ordered  to  mount  guard  in 
the  Parliament  House — the  volunteers,  consisting  of  six 
companies,  in  the  Exchequer  Chamber,  and  the  Edinburgh 
regiment  in  the  Justiciary  hall;  there  were  also  three 
volunteer  companies  of  Seceders,*  a  company  of  fuaileers 
consisting  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  men — and  about  two 
hundred  persons  firom  the  county  of  Md-Lothian,  who  came 
in  to  defend  the  city.  All  was  now  hurry  and  confusion — 
the  cash  of  the  two  banks,  of  the  public  offices,  and  the  most 
valuable  effects  of  the  private  citizens  were  removed  to  the 
Castle  for  security — palisades  were  erected — the  town's 
gates  barricaded,  and  cannon  placed  on  the  city  walL  On 
the  fifteenth  September,  iateUigence  arrived  that  the  van  of 
the  Highland  army  was  at  Linlithgow,  and  detachments 
firom  it  within  a  few  miles  of  Edinburgh,  and  Colonel  Gar- 
diner's regiment  of  dragoons  retreating  before  them.  Hamil- 
ton's regiment  of  dragoons  was  now  sent  firom  Leith  Links 
to  join  Colonel  Gardiner's  at  Corstorphine.  This  happened 
on  a  Sabbath  in  Edinburgh;  the  ministers  were  preaching 
with  swords  by  their  sides  when  the  fire-bell  was  rung  as  a 
signal  of  danger,  and  the  churches  were  then  deserted.  The 
volunteers  were  ranged  up  in  the  Lawnmarket,  ready  to 
march  out  of  town,  but  some  murmuring  and  faint-hearted- 
ness  being  displayed,  the  ex-provost,  Mr.  George  Drummond, 
anxious  to  put  a  stop  to  this,  led  off  a  portion  of  the  volun- 
teers down  the  West  Bow  to  the  West  Port,  expecting  that 
the  rest  would  follow,  but  on  arriving  at  that  city  gate,  he 
found  his  troops  had  almost  all  melted  away.  The  town 
guard  and  the  volunteers,  by  order  of  the  Lord  Provost, 
marched  out  to  join  the  dragoons  at  Corstorphine.  Gen- 
eral Foukes,  who  had  just  arrived  firom  London,  took 
command  of  this  little  army,  and  by  order  of  General  Guest, 

*  Maitknd't  History  of  Edinburgh, 


ANNALS.  175 

tbe  goYemor  of  the  Castle,  marched  out  to  Coltbridge,  a 
place  one  mile  west  of  the  city,  near  Contorphine.  A 
panic  here  commenced  among  the  dragoons,  and  they  re> 
treated  with  great  speed  to  the  open  country  beyond  Edin- 
burgh, traversing  the  lang  dykes,  ground  now  occupied  by 
Prince's  Street.  This  movement  was  afterwards  in  ridicule 
styled  the  Ccavter  of  CoUbrigg. 

A  clamour  now  arose  in  Edinburgh  that  the  dragoons 
having  fled,  it  was  useless  to  think  of  defending  the  town, 
and  many  of  the  inhabitants  were  leaving  it,  but  a  meeting 
was  held  in  the  New  church  aisle  to  consider  the  question 
of  defend  or  not  defend  the  city;  the  majority  were  in  favour 
of '  not  defend,*  and  it  was  resolved  to  treat  with  the  enemy 
and  appoint  commissioners  for  that  purpose,  when  a  letter 
was  handed  in  addressed  to  the  Lord  Provost,  Magistrates, 
and  Town  Council.  It  was  announced  that  this  epistle  was 
subscribed  ^  Charies  P.  Hr  The  Lord  Provost  said  he 
could  not  be  present  at  the  reading  of  such  a  letter,  and  left 
tbe  meeting,  but  it  was  afterwards  read  at  a  meeting  in  the 
Goldsmith's  Hall.     It  was  as  follows: 

<*  Fbom  oub  Cijcp,  16tb  Sqdeinber,  1745. 

Being  now  in  a  condition  to  make  our  way  into  the 
capital  of  his  Majes^'s  ancient  kingdom  of  Scotland,  we 
hereby  summon  you  to  receive  us,  as  you  are  in  duty  bound 
to  do;  and  in  order  to  it,  we  hereby  require  you,  on  receipt 
of  this,  to  summon  the  Town  Council,  and  to  take  proper 
measures  for  securing  the  peace  of  the  city,  which  we  are 
very  desirous  to  protect.  But  if  you  suffer  any  of  the 
usurper^s  troops  to  enter  the  town,  or  atiy  of  tbe  cannon, 
arms,  or  ammunition,  now  in  it,  whether  belonging  to  the 
public,  or  to  private  persons,  to  be  carried  off,  we  shall  take 
it  as  a  breach  of  your  duty,  and  a  heinous  offence  against 
the  King  and  us,  and  shall  resent  it  accordingly.  We  pro- 
mise to  preserve  all  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  city  and 
the  particular  property  of  every  one  of  his  Majesty^s  subjects. 


176  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBOH. 

But  if  any  opposition  be  made  to  us,  we  cannot  answer  for 
the  consequences^  being  finnly  resolred,  at'  any  rate,  to  enter 
the  city.  And  in  that  case,  if  any  of  the  inhabitants  are 
found  in  arms  against  us,  they  must  not  expect  to  be  treated 
as  prisoners  of  war. 

Chablbs  p.  B.'' 

The  meeting  appointed  a  deputation  headed  by  Bailie 
Hamilton,  a  son  of  the  ingenious  writer  on  the  National  Debt, 
to  proceed  to  Slateford  to  arrange  terms  with  Charles  for 
the  capitulation  of  the  city.  They  returned  at  ten  o'clock 
at  night  with  a  letter  fix>m  Charles  demanding  to  be  peace- 
ably admitted  into  the  city.  But  the  Magistrates  having 
now  learned  that  Cope's  troops  had  arrived  from  the  north 
off  Dunbar,  were  disposed  to  hold  out.  They  sent  a  second 
deputation  at  two  o'clock  next  morning  to  Slateford.  Charles' 
reply  was  now  couched  in  these  terms,  ^^  His  Royal  High- 
ness has  already  given  all  the  assurances  he  can,  that  he  in- 
tends to  exact  nothing  of  the  city  in  general,  nor  of  any  in 
particular,  but  what  his  character  of  Regent  entitles  him  to. 
This  he  repeats,  and  renews  his  summons  to  the  Magistrates 
to  receive  him  as  such."  This  was  dated  at  three  o'clock  in 
the"^ morning.  Charles,  after  an  anxious  night — afraid  the 
city  might  be  relieved,  gave  orders  early  in  the  morning  to 
take  it  by  surprise.  The  party  he  sent  for  this  purpose,  as- 
sembled on  the  Borough  Moor  by  moonlight,  where  they 
heard  the  watches  calling  the  round  in  the  Castle.  It  was 
determined  to  attempt  to  take  the  town  by  stratagem.  A 
party  of  twenty-four  was  placed  at  the  Netherbow  Port,  and 
sixty  men  were  stationed  in  St.  Mary's  Wjrnd.  The  coach 
which  had  taken  out  the  last  deputation  to  Slateford  and 
brought  them  back  to  Edinbtirgh,  was  now  leaving  the  city 
for  the  suburbs  of  the  Canongate.  The  city  gate  had  been 
opened  for  its  egress,  when  the  Highlanders  rushed  in  and 
overpowered  the  guard — and  after  a  short  time  obtained  com- 
plete possession  of  the  town.     Thus,  on  the  morning  of 


▲KNAua  177 

Tneadaj  17th  September,  1745,  the  dtisens  of  Edinburgh 
found  the  government  of  their  ancient  capital  transferred 
from  Magistrates  acting  in  the  name  and  on  behalf  of  his 
Majesty,  Eling  Greorge  11. — to  the  Highlanders  under 
Charles  Edward,  acting  as  Prince  Begent  for  his  father, 
and  abont  noon  that  day  at  the  Cross,  the  heralds  and  pur* 
soivants  with  the  usual  formaiitite  proclaimed  James  VIII. 
as  Ejng,  and  read  Charles'  commission  of  regency  super* 
scribed  ^<  J.  K."  and  dated  at  Borne,  28d  December,  1743. 

Charles  learning  at  his  camp  at  Slateford,  that  the  ancient 
capital  of  his  ancestors  was  now  in  possession  of  his  troops, 
must  have  felt  not  a  little  elated  with  such  intelligence,  and 
leaving  his  quarters  at  an  early  hour  of  the  morning,  pro* 
ceeded  towards  Edinburgh;  had  he  taken  the  most  direct 
and  public  road,  the  lofty  position  of  the  fortress  would  have 
exposed  him  to  a  galling  fire  fix)m  its  guns,  he  therefore 
wended  his  way  towards  the  south,  where  some  high  grounds 
screened  him  from  the  Castle,  and  entering  on  the  turnpike 
road  near  Momingside,  he  crossed  about  the  spot  where  the 
parish  church  now  stands,  by  Grange  Loan.  Passing  close 
by  the  Dick  Lauder  mansion-house,  he  entered  the  King's 
Park  near  Prestonfield,  also  the  seat  of  another  baronet* 
family  of  the  name  of  Dick ;  a  breach  having  been  made  in 
the  wall.  He  left  his  troops  about  mid-day,  in  the  Himter's 
bog,  a  valley  situated  between  Arthur's  Seat  and  Salisbury 
Crags,  and  approached  the  royal  palace  of  Holyrood-house 
amidst  a  vast  crowd  of  spectators,  who  ftt)m  town  and  coun- 
try had  flocked  together,  expressing  their  joy  and  surprise, 
by  long  and  loud  huzsas.  He  rode  forward  to  the  palace 
with  the  Duke  of  Perth  on  one  side,  and  Lord  Elcho  (the 
son  of  the  Earl  of  Wemyss,)  who  had  only  joined  him  the 
xught  before,  on  the  other,  and  a  number  of  gentlemen  in 
his  train.  When  he  approached  the  height  near  St.  An- 
thony's Chapel,  he  for  the  first  time  obtained  a  view  of  the 
palace,  alighted  from  his  horse  and  paused  for  a  little,  to 
survey,  what  must  have  seemed  to  him  almost  a  fairy  scene. 


178  .'  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH.  ' 

The  park  and  gardens  were  filled  with  people  of  all  ranks, 
and  some  knelt  to  do  him  homage.  Their  congratolations 
he  received  gracefully;  he  was  then  in  the  prime  of  life,  a 
tall  and  handsome  joang  man,  fair  haired,  and  blue  eyes. 
He  wore  a  blue  velvet  bonnet,  a  short  tartan  coat,  from  the 
breast  of  which  was  suspended  tlie  star  of  the  order  of  St. 
Andrew,  a  blue  sash  over  his  shoulder,  military  boots,  and  a 
broad  sword.  Thus  attended  and  equipped,  he  entered  that 
palace,  which  had  been  erewhile  the  abode  of  his  grand- 
father, the  Duke  of  York,  afterwards  James  VII.  The 
next  day  he  published  a  proclamation,  requiring  all  the  in- 
habitants of  the  city  and  neighbouring  districts  immediately 
to  give  up  the  arms  and  ammunition  in  their  possession,  to 
be  delivered  at  Holyrood-house.  Some  of  the  Highlanders 
having  extorted  money  and  goods  from  the  citizens  without 
authority,  Charles  also  issued  a  proclamation,  threatening 
a  court-martial,  and  death  to  those  who  should  repeat  the 
like  offence.  The  prince  appointed  a  cabinet  council  to 
meet  with  him  daily  at  the  palace.  Their  deliberations  were 
said  to  be  often  tedious  and  discordant;  he  held  a  levee 
regularly  after  the  council  rose, — ^he  dined  in  public  with 
some  of  his  principal  officers,  then  rode  out  to  his  camp  at 
Duddingston, — ^in  the  evening  he  held  a  drawing-room,  and 
occasionally  gave  a  ball  in  the  old  picture  gallery  of  Holy- 
rood.  His  affability  won  him  golden  opinions,  and  he  be- 
came especially  a  favourite  with  the  ladies.  Having  sup- 
plied his  troops  with  abundance  of  the  munitions  of  war, 
consisting,  among  other  articles,  of  one  thousand  tents,  two 
thousand  targets,  along  with  six  thousand  pair  of  shoes  pro- 
vided by  the  city  on  his  requisition,  on  which  the  inhabitants 
were  summoned  to  deliberate,  and  agreed  to  furnish,  Charles 
broke  up  his  camp  at  Duddingston,  on  the  morning  of  the 
20th  September,  and  marched  to  meet  the  King's  troops 
under  Cope,  and  on  the  21st  he  attacked  and  defeated 
them  at  Prestonpans,  about  eight  miles  from  Edinburgh, 
after  which  he  returned  with  his  troops  to  the  encampment 


ANNALS.  179 

at  Doddingston,  having  now  both  the  prestige  of  royalty,  and 
the  advantage  of  a  considerable  victory  on  his  side.  The 
dan  Cameron  entered  Edinburgh  with  their  bagpipes  play- 
ing and  the  colours  they  had  taken  from  Cope's  dragoons, 
within  three  honrs  afi^r  tlie  battle  of  Prestonpans,  but  the 
main  body  of  the  dans  and  Charles'  troops  did  not  enter  the 
city  till  the  following  day,  when  they  sought  to  impress  the 
inhabitants  by  parading  through  the  principal  streets.' 
Charles  himself  acted  with  moderation;  he  issued  a  proda- 
mation  expressing  his  anxiety  that  no  interruption  should  be 
offered  to  the  inhabitants,  or  the  business  of  the  dty.  For 
some  davs  the  communication  between  the  city  and  the 
Castle  continued  open,  but  on  the  25th  September,  from  the 
garrison  under  General  Guest  having  suffered  some  alarm 
on  the  southern  side  of  the  rock,  which  they  imagined  to 
proceed  from  an  attempt  to  take  the  fortress  by  surpiise, 
they  fired  on  the  guard-house  of  the  Highlanders,  at  the 
West  Port.  This  irritated  Charles,  and  he  consequently,  a 
few  days  after,  placed  a  guard  at  the  Weigh  House,  near  the 
Castle,  to  prevent  communication  between  it  and  the  dty. 
This  again  was  resented  by  the  governor,  who  wrote  to  the 
Lord  Provost  that  if  the  communication  was  not  speedily 
re-opened,  he  would  by  his  artillery  dislodge  the  several  posts 
at  the  Castle-hill.  A  deputation  of  citizens  now  waited  on 
Charles,  as  they  were  afraid  of  a  bombardment  from  the 
Castle,  but  neither  he  nor  the  governor  seemed  disposed  to 
jield  their  point.  Guest  granted  a  respite  of  six  days  to 
the  citizens,  to  afford  time  for  an  answer  to  an  express, 
which  it  seems  had  been  sent  to  London,  but  on  the  fiist 
of  October,  some  per&ons  carrying  provisions  to  the  Castle, 
were  fired  on  by  the  Highland  troops;  this  roused  the  gover- 
nor, and  shots  were  fired  from  the  Castle  on  the  Highland 
guard.  These  damaged  several  houses  in  the  neighbourhood, 
and  some  bullets  are  still  to  be  seen  lodged  in  the  wall  of  the 
westmost  house  on  the  southern  side  of  the  Castle-hill. 
The  following  day  Charles  issued  a  prodamation  str'^*' 


180  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

prohibiting  all  intercourse  with  the  Castle,  and  to  enforce 
this,  posted  guards  both  at  St.  Cuthberfs  church  (m.  the 
north  side  and  Livingstone's  Yards  on  the  south  side  of  the 
fortress.  A  sally  was  made  from  the  Castle,  and  one  of  the 
guard-houses  set  on  fire,  and  a  few  prisoners  taken. 

On  the  4th  October,  Ghiest,  determined  to  proceed  to  ex- 
treme measures,  warned  the  inhabitants  to  remove  from 
'James'  Court,  a  large  pile  of  building  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, and  he  commenced  a  severe  cannonade  by  which  some 
bouses  on  the  Castle-hill  were  destroyed.  Great  consterna- 
tion prevailed  among  the  citizens,  but  on  the  following  day, 
Charles  raised  the  blockade  of  the  Castle,  and  thus  quieted 
the  alarm. 

It  was  during  this  blockade  that  a  lady  whose  name  is 
celebrated  in  the  lyrical  poetiy  of  Scotland — Mrs.  Cockbum,* 
was  retuniing  from  a  visit  to  Ravelston,  a  beautiful  rural 
seat  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Edinburgh,  when  the  carriage 
was  stopped  by  the  Highland  guard  at  the  West  Port,  and 
as  she  had  with  her  a  copy  of  a  clever  parody,  supposed  to 
be  written  by  herself,  in  verse,  on  Prince  Charles'  procla- 
mation, she  was  much  alarmed,  but  the  arms  on  the  coach 
being  recognised  as  belonging  to  a  gentleman  &vourable  to 
the  Jacobites,  she  was  allowed  to  pass  with  impunity.  This 
lady  was  the  author  of  the  song  called  the  Flowers  of  the 
Forest,  beginning: 

"  I're  seen  the  nniHog  of  fortane  begailing;" 

Her  humorous  version  of  the  Pretender^s  Manifesto  was 
as  follows: 

Hare  70a  any  lawv  to  mend? 

Or  have  yoa  any  gxieranee? 
I  am  a  boo  to  my  trade, 

And  truly  a  moet  leal  prince. 
Would  you  ha^a  war,  would  yon  have  peaces 

Would  yoit  be  free  of  tazea? 

*  This  lady  waa  Miss  AHioa  Batherford  of  Femielee,  who  was  married 
,  Patrick  Gookbom^  advoeate,  in  1731,  and  died  at  Edinborgb  in  1794. 


ANNALS.  181 

Oome  obapping  to  my  ftther't  door, 
Ton  need  aot  doubt  of  aoooit. 

BeligioD,  laws,  ud  liberty, 

Te  ken  ere  bonny  wordi,  tin; 
Tbey  ihaU  be  all  nmde  waat  to  yon, 

If  ye^  figbt  with  your  iwordt,  lift, 
Tbe  BAtioik**  debt  we  ioon  ihiJl  pay, 

If  ye*]l  tapport  our  right,  boyi; 
No  sooner  we  axe  broagbt  in  play, 

Than  all  tbingt  aball  be  tight,  boys. 

Te  ken  thai  by  an  union  base, 

'Tour  ancient  kingdom's  uftdooe, 
That  all  yoor  ladies,  lords,  and  lairds. 

Gangs  up  and  liTes  at  London. 
Nae  langer  that  we  will  allow, 

For  cradk — ^it  goes  asunder, 
What  took  sic  time  and  paina  to  do; 

And  let  the  world  wonder. 

I*m  sure,  for  seren  years  and  mair, 

TePTO  heard  of  sad  oppression; 
And  tUs  is  all  the  good  ye  go 

O'  the  Hanover  sneoession. 
For  absolute  power  and  popery, 

Te  ken  it*s  a*  but  nonsense, 
I  here  swear  to  seenre  to  yon 

Tonr  liberty  of  oonsdenoe. 

And,  for  your  mair  enoonragement, 

Te  shall  be  pardoned  byganes; 
Nae  mair  fight  on  the  Continent, 

And  leave  behind  your  dry  banes. 
Then  come  away  and  dinna  stay, 

What  gars  ye  look  sae  laundart? 
Pd  have  ye  ran,  and  not  delay, 

To  Join  my  iather*s  standard! 

This  occupation  of  EdiDburgh  by  the  Highland  troops, 
intermpted  all  the  ordinaxy  civic  elections  which  took  place 
annually  at  that  period  of  the  year,  September  and  October; 
and  Edinburgh  was  thus  left  without  a  ^iagistracy  or  Town 
Coundl  for  a  year.  Mr.  Dunsmore,  the  moderator  of  the 
Socie^  of  High  Ck>n8tables,  (a  body  of  about  sixty  of  tbe 


; 


\ 


1 82  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

most  respectable  citizens,)  became  the  chief  actiBg  civic 
officer  for  a  period. 

The  foregoing  constituted  the  most  remarkable  of  the 
transactions  in  Edinburgh  daring  its  occupation  bj  Charles 
and  his  Highland  army.  He  was  joined  there  early  in 
October  by  Lord  Ogilvie,  son  of  the  Eari  of  Airlie,  with 
600  men,  and  on  the  9th  by  Lord  Pitsligo  and  a  great  body 
of  followers  from  Aberdeen  and  Banffshire;  only  about  three 
hundred  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  seem  to  have  joined 
his  standard^  though  by  the  end  of  October  his  army 
amounted  to  nearly  6,000  meuc  During  the  latter  half  of 
the  month  he  had  brought  his  troops  from  Duddlngston  to 
be  quartered  in  the  city  and  suburbs.  He  now  resolved  to 
march  southward,  and  before  doing  so  held  a  final  review  of 
his  army  on  Portobello  Sands.  The  main  body  of  his  troops 
left  Edinburgh  on  the  26th,  and  on  Thursday  31st  Octob^; 
Charles,  after  this  brief  but  showy  enactment  of  royal  au- 
thority, left  the  palace  of  Holyrood  and  the  ancient  capital 
of  his  ancestors. 

On  the  13th  November,  1745,  the  officers  of  state 
who  had  left  Edinburgh  in  September,  on  the  approach 
of  Charles*  army,  returned  to  their  courts  and  chambers 
in  a  triumphal  procession,  and  were  greeted  with  a  salute 
from  the  Castle.  On  the  following  day  the  regular  mili- 
tary entered  the  city,  and  continued  there  till  the  13th 
of  January,  1746,  when  they  departed  with  General 
Hawley,  and  were  present  at  the  battle  of  Falkirk 
on  the  17th  of  that  month.  Hawley,  sanguine  of  success, 
had  left  gibbets  in  Edinburgh  on  which  he  proposed  to  hang 
some  of  the  rebels,  but  on  his  return  defeated, — he  used  them 
for  his  own  soldiers,  executing  four  in  one  day. 

On  Hawle/s  defeat  at  Falkirk,  Prince  William,  Duke  of 
Cumberland,  son  of  George  11.,  was  appointed  Commander- 
in-chief  in  Scotland,  and  arrived  unexpectedly  in  Edinburgh 
on  the  morning  of  the  30th  January.  This  youthful  gen- 
eral was  of  the  same  age  (25  years)  as  his  relative  Charles, 


ANKAL&  183 

whom  he  now  came  to  Scotland  to  defeat,  and  it  was  a 
striking  instance  of  the  vidssitades  of  human  affairs  that 
on  that  evening  he  slept  on  the  same  conch  in  the  same 
palace  of  Holyrood,  occupied  by  Charles  with  all  the  parade 
of  Toyslty  only  three  months  previous.  The  Doke  displayed 
great  activity  during  his  short  visit  to  Edinburgh*  He  was 
in  military  consultation  with  Grenerals  Hawley  and  Huske 
before  eight  o'clock  next  morning — ^in  the  forenoon  he  re- 
ceived the  principal  officers  of  state,  the  Professors  of  the 
University,  and  a  number  of  the  citizens,  and  the  music 
bells  of  St.  Giles  were  rung  in  his  honour.  He  inspected 
the  train  of  artillery  in  the  court  in  front  of  Holyrood-house, 
and  in  the  evening  he  received  a  number  of  ladies  of  dis- 
tinction in  the  same  hall  where  Charles  had  so  lately  enter* 
tained  his  adherents.  The  Duke  of  Cumberland  left  Edin- 
burgh on  the  31st  January  in  great  state,  passing  up  the 
Canongate  and  High  Street  in  a  coach  with  twelve  horses, 
which  had  been  presented  to  him  by  Lord  Hopetoun.  On 
reaching  the  western  suburb  of  Castlebams,  he  left  his  car- 
riage, and  mounted  on  horseback.  He  was  heartily  cheered 
by  the  multitude — ^turned  round,  took  off  his  hat  and 
thanked  the  people  for  this  expression  of  their  regard,  shook 
hands  with  those  nearest,  and  seeming  to  be  aware  of  the 
power  of  national  lyrics,  said,  ^^  Come,  let  us  have  a  song 
before  parting,''  and  began: 

**  Will  ye  plaj  me  fair. 
Highland  laddie,  Highland  laddie." 

Then  stretching  out  his  hand  as  if  addressing  his  opponent 
Prince  Charlie,  he  left  the  city  at  a  rapid  pace  to  put  him- 
self at  the  head  of  his  army. 

Cnlloden,  ofn  thy  ewarth  j  brow 
Spring  no  wild  flowers  nor  Terdore  fair, 
Th<m  feeVat  not  Biunmer*e  genial  glow, 
Nor  yet  the  freecing  wintry  air! 


But  thy  field  was  dyed  with  British  blood,  as  there  Cum- 


184  mSTOEY  OF  EDINBUBQH. 

berland  totaUj  defeated  Charles  on  the  following  16th  April, 
— ^let  Tui  hope  the  last  civil  warfare  to  be  witnessed  in  oar 
free  and  happy  islands  ! 

But  these  matters  concern  the  general  histoxy  of  the 
coontry,  this  history  is  connected  only  with  what  immediate- 
ly affects  the  capital  of  Scotland. 

After  the  suppression  of  the  Bebellion,  Grovemment  seem 
to  have  felt  very  keenly  the  surrender  of  Edinburgh  to  the 
Highland  troops,  and  considerable  jealousy  appears  to  have 
been  entertained  regarding  the  conduct  of  'Mr.  Archibald 
Stewart,  the  Lord  Provost.  When  he  arrived  in  London 
in  Nov.  1745,  to  attend  his  duty  in  Parliament,  he  was 
arrested  and  committed  to  close  confinement  in  the  Tower, 
and  was  not  admitted  to  bail,  till  January,  1746,  when  he 
had  to  find  security  to  the  extent  of  £15,000  sterling ;  and 
was  afterwards  indicted  to  stand  trial  before  the  High  Court 
of  justiciary,  for  neglecting  his  duty  in  not  having  taken 
proper  measures  for  defending  the  city  in  August  and  Sep- 
^tember,  1745.  After  very  protracted  proceedings,  and  sev- 
eral prorogations,  his  trial  took  place  on  26th  October,  1747, 
and  so  lengthened  was  the  evidence,  that  the  jury  having 
sat  forty  hours,  craved  an  adjournment,  which  was  agreed 
to.  Their  verdict  was  delivered  on  2d  Nov.  by  their  Chan- 
cellor, Sir  Alexander  Nisbet  of  Dean,  unanimously  finding 
Mr*  Stewart "  not  guilty.*' 

On  looking  back  at  the  whole  circumstances  of  the  case, 
and  the  difficult  position  in  which  Provost  Stewart  was 
placed,  it  seems  impossible  to  avoid  agreeing  with  Lord 
MahoU;*  that  the  government  appear  to  have  treated  him 
with  great  harshness. 

The  Duke  of  Cumberland  after  the  Battle  of 

Culloden,  caused  fourteen  of  the  rebel  standards  to 

be  burned  at  the  cross  of  Edinburgh.     Charles'  own  was 

carried   by  the  common  executioner,  and  the  others  by 

*  The  "  Forty-Fire/'  by  Lord  MaboiL    London,  1851. 


AKKAL&  1 85 

cliiixmey-sweepers,  the  Heralds  prodaimiDg  the  names  of 
those  to  whom  they  had  belonged  as  they  were  thrown  into 
the  fire. 

By  a  warrant  firom  the  Eling  and  Privy  Cooncil)  a  poll 
election  of  Magistrates  and  Council  by  the  burgesses  took 
place  on  26th  Nov.,  1746)  which'restored  the  ordinazy  gov- 
ernment of  the  city  after  the  lapse  occasioned  by  the 
KebeUion  of  the  previous  year. 


Vtnitt  of  Golfn  ttl%Marin. 

Colin  M^aurin  was  bom  in  Argyleshire,  Feb. 
1698.  In  1717  he  was  chosen  Professor  of  Mathe* 
matics  in  Marischal  College,  Aberdeen,  and  a  few  years 
after,  some  of  the  patrons  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh 
deemed  him  a  very  eligible  person  to  supply  the  place 
of  David  Gregory  in  the  mathematical  chair  there,  who  was 
then  old  and  infirm.  Sir  Isaac  Newton  at  this  time  bore 
the  highest  testimony  to  MOLaurin's  peculiar  fitness  for  that 
chair,  and  even  offered  him  an  aimuity  to  encourage  him  to 
accept  of  the  assistantship  to  Gregory.  He  was  inducted  in 
1725,  and  twenty  years  afterwards,  when  Edinburgh  and 
her  officials  were  alarmed  at  the  approach  of  the  Highland 
army,  MOLaurin  aided  the  Magistrates  by  making  plans  of 
the  city  walls,  proposing  new  entrenchments,  barricades,  and 
batteries.  He  was  employed  to  superintend  the  execution 
of  these  plans,  and  the  great  fatigue  he  incurred  with  this, 
it  was  thought,  laid  the  foundation  of  the  illness  of  which  he 
died,  14th  Jtme,  1746. 

His  son,  John,  became  in  1789  one  of  the  judges  of  the 
Court  of  Session  as  Lord  Dreghom. 

The  Town  Council  havinc  ameed  to  invest  the 

1747. 

Duke  of  Cumberland  with  the  fireedom  of  the  city — 
PiHTvost  Drummond  transmitted  the  same  to  His  Royal 
Highness,  enclosed  in  a  handsome  gold  box  of  curious  work- 


186  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

mansfaip,  with  a  letter  dated  6th  April,  17479  to  which  he 
replied  from  Brabant  on  23d  Jane  following. 

Siograyl^te  Xottct  of  Simraii  S^tnhn* 

Duncan  Forbes  of  CuUoden,  was  bom  10th  Nov., 

1747 

1685.  He  began  the  study  of  law  in  Edinburgh, 
1705,  passed  Advocate  in  1709,  and  was  appointed  Sheriff 
of  the  shire  of  Edinburgh.  In  1722  he  obtained  a  seat  in 
the  House  of  Commons,  in  1725  became  Lord  Advocate, 
and  when  the  bill  arising  out  of  the  Porteous  mob  affair  was 
before  Parliament,  he  was  of  considerable  service  to  the  city  of 
Edinburgh,  in  obtaining  fieivourable  modifications  of  the  pro- 
posed enactment.  He  became  Lord  President  of  the  Court 
of  Session  in  1737,  and  at  the  Bebellion  in  1745,  he  was  of 
great  service  to  the  government,  though  he  had  to  take 
refuge  in  the  Island  of  Skye  till  after  the  battle  of  Culloden* 
He  died  10th  December,  1747. 

A  beautiful  white  marble  statue  of  Duncan  Forbes  is 
erected  in  the  Parliament  House,  Edinburgh. 

Sfogtapl^fc  Nottoe  of  lUibftt  Blafr. 

Bobert  Blair,  the  author  of  the  Grave,  a  beautiful 

1747. 

classical  poem,  somewhat  in  the  styleof  Young's  Night 
Thoughts,  was  the  son  of  David  Blair,  one  of  the  Ministers 
of  Edinburgh.  The  poet  was  bom  in  the  city,  1699,  and 
received  his  education  there ;  and  in  1731,  was  appointed 
Minister  of  Athelstaneford,  in  East  Lothian.  His  fine  poem, 
the  Grave,  was  published  in  1743. 

He  was  a  man  of  simple  and  unostentatious  piety.  He 
died  in  1747.  His  son,  Lord  Ptesident  Blair,  was  one  of 
the  most  excellent  men  as  a  lawyer,  Scotland  ever  pro- 
duced. 


AKNALB.  187 

iStogntptitt  Koitee  of  Jfo^n  9MbtmtIUf 
SectmB  Sari  of  Statr. 

John  Dalrymple,  the  second  Earl  of  Stair,  a 
dislangaished  militaxy  character,  was  bom  in  Edin- 
burgh, 1673.  He  entered  the  army  in  1701,  and  was  en- 
gaged in  the  greater  part  of  Marlborough's  victories.  In  the 
reign  of  George  I»,  he  was  commander  of  the  Forces  in 
Scotland,  and  resided  in  Edinburgh.  He  was  at  different 
times  Ambassador  both  to  France  and  Holland.  In  1743, 
he  held  the  rank  of  Field-marshal,  and  commanded  the 
British  army  at  the  Battle  of  Dettingen.  He  resided  many 
years  at  New  Listen,  a  few  miles  west  firom  Edinburgh, 
where  a  plantation  of  trees  is  still  to  be  seen,  representing 
the  arrangement  of  the  British  army  at  the  Battle  of  Font- 
enoy.  The  Earl  died  at  Queensberry  House,  Canongate, 
9th  May,  1747. 

Biograiit^te  Notice  of  Swmn  tP^nmmnu 


1748. 


James  Thomson,  the  author  of '^  The  Seasons," 
was  bom  at  Ednam,  Boxburghshire,  11th  Sept., 
1700.  He  was  educated  at  Jedburgh  and  Edinburgh,  but 
left  the  University  of  this  city  in  1725,  and  proceeded  to 
London,  where  he  published  his  great  poem  in  detached 
seasons,  from  1727  to  1730.  He  travelled  in  Italy,  and  was 
afterwards  appointed  Surveyor-General  of  the  Leeward 
Islands.  His  fine  poem,  ^'  The  Castle  of  Indolence,"  was  the 
latest  of  lus  publications.  He  died  at  Richmond,  27  th  Aug., 
1748,  a  monument  was  aft;erwards  erected  to  him  in  West- 
minster Abbey. 

The  second  Secession  ftt>m  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land took  place  in  1752,  the  Presbytery  of  Dun- 
fermline having  refused  to  proceed  to  the  settlement  of  a 
Minister  unacceptable  to  the  people,  pleading  that  it  was,  and 


188  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

had  been  ever  since  the  Befonnation,  the  law  of  the  land 
that  no  minister  shall  be  introduced  into  any  parish  con- 
trary to  the  will  of  the  congregation.  The  General  Assembly 
held  at  Edinburgh,  1752,  deposed  Mr.  Thomas  Gillespie  of 
Camocky  and  he  became  the  first  minister  of  the  Synod 
of  Belief,  or  Relief  Secession  from  the  Church  of  Scotland.. 
The  New  Town  of  Edinburgh  was  first  projected  in  the 
year  1752, — the  idea  contemplated  was  an  extension  of  the 
royalty  or  city  to  the  north,  to  include  the  open  fields 
in  that  quarter  and  the  road  that  went  by  the  name  of 
the  Lang  Gait,  or  Lang  Dykes,  and  that  part  called 
Mutter^s  or  Mutrie's  HiU,  where  the  Register  House  now 
stands*  This  was  to  be  efiected  by  draining  the  North  Loch 
and  throwing  a  large  bridge  across  the  broad  ravine  from 
the  High  Street  northward ;  the  new  streets  and  houses  to  be 
adapted  to  the  increased  taste  and  luxury  of  the  eighteenth 
century. 

The  foundation  of  the  Boyal  Exchange,  a  solid 
and  massive  building  in  the  EUgh  Street,  was  laid 
13th  September,  1753,  and  the  erection  finished  in  a  year 
or  two  after,  at  an  expense,  including  the  area,  of  £31,000 ; 
and  the  Trustees  handed  over  to  the  Magistrates,  in  1759, 
a  balance  of  £3,000  of  the  funds  which  remained  after  this 
buildbg  was  erected. 

SSiogra^lit  fi^titt  of  lloiiert  SunBaiSt 
l4n:0  yrtfttOntt  of  t^t  Cottrt  of  Zt%%imL 

Robert  Dundas  of  Amiston,  bom  1685,  passed 
Advocate  1709,  in  1717  became  Solicitor-General, 
in  1720  Lord  Advocate,  two  years  afterwards  member 
of  parliament  for  the  county  of  Edinburgh,  in  1725  Dean  , 
of  the  Faculty  of  Advocates  in  1737  he  rose  to  the  bench  as 
Lord  Amiston,  being  the  third  in  succession  firom  father  to 
son,  sitting  as  a  supreme  judge  in  Scotland  under  that 
designation.    In  1748,  he  succeeded  Duncan  Forbes  of 


AKKAIA  189 

Colloden,  as  Lord  Preudent  of  the  Court  of  Session.  As  a 
judge,  he  was  distingnished  for  high  integiitj  of  character. 
He  died  in  1753.    The  first  Yiscotint  Melville  was  one  of  his 


sons. 


Biogr«9|ir  lUitict  of  lurB  CWfin. 

Patrick  Grant,  Lord  Elchies,  was  bom  1690, 
passed  Advocate  1711,  was  elevated  to  the  bench 
1732,  and  became  also  a  Lord  of  Josticiarj  in  1736.  He 
died  at  Lich  House  in  the  vicinity  of  Edinburgh,  in  1754. 
He  collected  a  variety  of  Decisions  of  the  Court  of  Session, 
which  were  published  in  2  vols.  4to,  and  are  well  known  as 
"  Elchies*  Decisions." 

Sle  OID  €n%%  of  SBiiAttrgli. 

Dnn-Edin'B  croes,  a  pUlai^d  stone, 

1756.  Rote  on  a  tazret  octagon; 

Bnt  DOW  is  rased  that  monument, 

Whence  royal  edict  rang, 

And  roice  of  Sootland's  law  was  lent 

In  glorious  tnunpet  dang. 

Scott. 

The  old  Cross  of  Edinburgh  was  a  curious  structure  of 
mixed  architecture, — Grecian  and  Gothic.  It  stood  in  the 
High  Street  near  the  Royal  Exchange.  It  was  an  octagon 
of  sixteen  feet  diameter,  and  fifteen  feet  high,  with  a  pillar 
in  the  centre.  Boyal  proclamations  and  other  formalities 
were  read  there,  but  the  building  came  to  be  considered  as 
incommoding  the  street,  and  it  was  removed,  13th  March, 
1756.  Those  who  are  curious  to  see  this  ancient  relique 
of  Edinburgh  will  find  the  pillar  still  existing  in  a  park  at 
the  estate  of  Drum  about  six  miles  south  of  the  city.  The 
removal  of  this  historic  feature  of  the  old  city  from  its  an- 
cient site  has  been  much  and  justly  reprobated.  Of  late 
years  it  has  been  proposed  to  restore  it  to  its  original  site, 


190  mSTORT  OF  EDINBURGH. 

and  the  centenary  of  its  demolition  woold  form  an  appro- 
priate epoch  for  its  restoration. 

fitogtaylir  fiMtUt  of  tP^aman  ItttDOtiiuni. 

Thomas  Haddiman,  the  Latin  grammarian,  whose 
name  is  mnch  connected  with  Edinburgh  literatnre, 
was  bom  in  Banfihire,  1674.  He  obtained  his  d^^jee  of 
A.  M.  at  Aberdeen  University^  and  was  soon  after  appointed 
parochial  schoolmaster  at  Laurencekirk.  He  came  to  Edin- 
burgh in  1700,  and  was  engaged  as  an  assistant  librarian 
in  the  Advocates'  Library.  He  published  an  edition  of 
Virgil's  2Bneid,  as  translated  by  Gawin  Douglas,  and  in 
1714  was  published  his  celebrated  ^'  Rudiments  of  the  Latin 
Tongue/*  a  book  familiar  for  a  century  to  every  juvenile 
student  of  Latin  throughout  Scotland.  Li  1728,  Ruddiman 
became  printer  to  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and  in  1729, 
proprietor  and  printer  of  the  Caledonian  Mercury  news- 
paper; the  following  year  he  was  appointed  librarian  to  the 
Faculty  of  Advocates.     He  died  19th  January,  1757.        : 

Biograiiltt  J^otice  of  mKRiam  Mataavau 

William  Maitland,  the  author  of  the  first  History 
;  '  of  Edinburgh,  was  bom  at  Brechin,  1693.  He  was  a 
.'merchant,  and  travelled  through  various  parts  of  the  Con- 
tinent. He  afterwards  settled  in  London,  and  became  a 
great  student  of  English  and  Scottish  antiquities.  Li  1733, 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Royal  Society,  and  in  1735, 
a  Fellow  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries.  He  published-  a  His 
Vtj»i^:i)f  London  in  1739.  In  1740>  he  took'up  his  residence 
•in  Scotland,  and  his  History  of  Edinburgh  illustrated  with 
many  engravings,  appeared  in  a  folio  volume  in  1753.  It 
was  considered  his  best  work,  and  being  chiefly  compiled 
from  original  documents  must  have  cost  him  great  labour. 
It  ;js;  written  in  a  curious,  desultory,  and  discursive  style. 


ANNJJLfi.  191 

like  an  antiqaaiian  gentleman  travelling  over  a  oonntry 
^-ith  vphich  he  viras  not  much  acquainted,  but  anxious  to  de- 
scribe it  with  fidelity.  The  work  is  now  very  rare.  As  a 
specimen  of  the  s^le  of  the  '^  Epistle  Dedicatory/'  a  favourite 
species  of  compodtion  in  t)ie  literature  of  those  days,  and  as 
connected  with  the  Histoxy  of  Edinburgh,  we  present  our 
readers  with  Maitland's  dedication  of  his  volume  to  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  afterwards  George  III.: 

TO 

The  Most  High,  Most  Potent,  and  Most  Illustrious, 

GEORGE  WILLLOf  FREDERICK, 

Prince  of  Great  Britain,  Electoral  Prince  of  Brunswick- 
Lunenburg,  Prince  of  Wales,  Duke  of  Rothsey,  Duke 
of  Edinburgh,  Marquis  of  the  Isle  of  Ely,  Earl  of 
Eltham,  Earl  of  Chester,  Earl  of  Carrick,  Viscount 
Launceston,  Baron  of  Renfi:*ew,  Baron  of  Snawdon, 
Lord  of  the  Isles,  Steward  of  Scotland,  Knight  of  the 
Most  Noble  Order  of  the  Garter,  and  one  of  his  Ma- 
jesty's Most  Honourable  Privy  Council. 

Sib, 

As  His  Majesty,  your  Royal  Highness's  royal  grandfather, 
was  most  graciously  pleased  to  do  me  the  honour  to  accept 
of  the  dedication  of  my  History  of  London,  the  capital  city 
of  the  southern  part  of  Britain ; 

To  whom  can  I  address  my  History  of  Edinburgh,  but 
to  your  Royal  Highness,  to  whose  patronage  it  seems  to 
have  a  double  claim?  The  first,  by  its  having  the  honour 
of  giving  the  title  of  Dusx  to  your  Royal  Highness;  and 
the  last,  by  its  being  the  chief  city  in  the  northern  part  of 
Britain,  and  second  town  in  this  island  in  respect  to  the  num- 
ber of  its  inhabitants;  which  your  Royal  Highness,  no  doubt, 
as  second  man  of  the  kingdom,  has  benignly  considered,  by 
your  graciously  vouchsafing  to  take  it  into  your  protection, 


192  HISTOBT  OP  EDINBURGH. 

by  doing  me  the  hononr  to  accept  of  the  dedication;  where- 
by I  am  encoturaged  most  humbly  to  lay  the  History  of 
Edinburgh  at  your  royal  feet. 

In  this  work,  the  first  of  its  kind  concerning  Edinborgh, 
your  Royal  Highness  may  please  to  behold  the  origin  both 
of  the  castle  and  city,  the  numerous  transactions  of  the 
citizens  with  their  kings,  accounts  of  the  several  parishes, 
and  things  contained  therein;  its  government,  ecclesiastical, 
civil  and  military,  in  all  their  branches;  incorporations  of 
arts,  manu&ctures  and  commerce;  courts  of  justice;  college, 
and  other  seminaries  of  learning;  with  accounts  of  the 
several  hospitals  and  other  charitable  foundations;  which 
benefactions,  together  with  His  Majesty's  royal  bounty  for 
the  encouragement  and  propagation  of  knowledge  in  the 
Highlands  and  Islands  of  Scotland,  and  the  premiums  given 
by  Parliament  for  the  encouragement  of  manufactures  and 
commerce,  seem  to  presage  its  happy  future  state. 

That  these,  and  many  other  blessings,  have  not  only  been 
confirmed  to  us,  but  greatly  augmented,  by  the  accession  of 
His  Majesty's  illustrious  family  to  the  throne  of  these  king- 
doms, is  universally  acknowledged  by  all  loyal  and  grateful 
Britons;  and  as  your  Royal  Highness  is  heir  apparent  to 
the  crown  of  these  kingdoms,  whenever  it  shall  please  the 
Almighty  to  remove  His  Majesty  from  an  earthly  to  an  ever- 
lasting crown  of  glory,  may  your  Royal  Highness  succeed 
him  to  the  joy  and  delight  of  a  grateful  and  obedient  people; 
and  that  your  posterity  may  never  &il  to  possess  the  crown 
of  these  kingdoms,  is  the  fervent  desire  and  sincere  prayer  of. 
May  it  please  your  Royal  Highness, 
Your  Royal  Highness's 
most  humble, 
most  dutiful, 

and  most  obedient  Servant, 

William  Maitland. 
Maitland  died  at  Montrose,  16th  July,  1757. 


1758. 


▲KNAL6.  193 

BioqtatHfit  Kotite  of  flODbnt  ItamMs* 

Allan  Ramsaj,  the  celebrated  author  of  the  Gentle 
Shepherd,  was  bom  at  Leadhills,  15tb  October, 
1686.  He  was  sent  to  Edinburgh  in  his  fifteenth  year. 
He  became  a  ^*  Skull^tbacker,"  as  he  ludicrously  calls  it,  by 
being  apprenticed  to  a  wig-maker.  He  married  Christian 
Boss,  daughter  of  a  writer  in  Edinburgh,  1712;  about  the 
same  time  he  appeared  as  a  poet.  Many  of  his  poems  were 
published  separately  at  the  price  of  a  penny  each,  the  jciti- 
zens  sending  their  children  to  purchase  these  popular  produc- 
tions at  this  cheap  rate,  asking  for  Allan  Kamsay's  last  piece. 
He  commenced  business  as  a  bookseller  about  1 718.  His  first 
place  of  business  as  a  bibliopole  was  in  the  High  Street,  op- 
posite Niddry's  Wynd,  with  the  figure  of  Mercury  as  his  sign. 
In  1721,  his  first  volume  was  thus  advertised  in  the  Edin'' 
burgh  Evening  Courant:  *'  The  Poems  of  Allan  Ramsay,  in  a 
large  quarto  volume,  fairly  printed,  with  notes,  and  a  complete 
glossary  (as  promised  to  the  subscribers),  being  now  finished; 
all  who  have  generously  contributed  to  carrying  gn  of  the 
design,  may  call  for  their  copies  as  soon  as  they  please,  from 
the  author,  at  the  Mercury,  opposite  to  Kiddry's  Wynd, 
Edinburgh."  This  volume  produced  him  four  hundred 
guineas  profit,  a  handsome  sum  in  those  days.  He  brought 
out  his  Fables  and  Tales  in  1722,  and  two  years  after  the 
first  volume  of  his  Tea-table  Miscellany,  a  Collection  of 
Scottish  and  English  songs.  It  was  completed  in  three  vol- 
umes; Hamilton  of  Bangour  and  Mallet  aided  him  with 
their  poetical  contributions.  In  1724,  his  Evergreen,  a 
Collection  of  Scots  Poems,  appeared,  and  in  the  foUowing 
year  "  the  Gentle  Shepherd,"  a  sweet  pastoral  drama,  was 
published.  Now  a  successful  bookseller,  he  removed  his 
business  in  1726  to  the  Luckenbooths,  the  same  premises 
occupied  at  a  much  later  period  by  Mr.  Creech.  Here,  Gay 
thcT)oet,  "  a  little  pleasant  looking  man  with  a  tye  wig,'* 

used  often  to  be  seen.     He  afterwards  built  as  a  sort  of  town 

K 


194  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

and  country  hooBe,  the  octagon  villa,  still  visible  at  Bamsay 
Gardens,  head  of  the  earthen  Mound.  He  told  hia  friend 
Lord  Elibank,  that  the  wits  said  it  was  like  a  goose-pie; 
^^  and  when  you  are  in  it,  Allan,"  said  his  lordship  facetiously, 
^^  I  think  it  is  well  named."  Bamsay  died  at  Edinbui^h, 
7th  January,  1758.  His  son  AUan,  was  educated  as  a  painter 
at  Borne.  Hia  grandson,  Greneral  Bamsay,  died  some  years 
ago,  when  the  late  Mr.  Murray  of  Henderland,  through  his 
connection  with  the  Lindsays  of  Evelick,  became  proprietor 
of  Bamsay  Lodge;  it  is  now  the  property  of  his  brother 
Lord  Murray.  It  is  proposed  to  erect  a  statue  of  Allan 
Bamsay  near  the  house. 

George  11.,  the  second  sovereign  of  the  House  of 
Hanover,  died  suddenly  at  Kensington,  25th  Octo- 
ber, 1760. 


HISTORICAL  DOCUMENTS 

COKNECTED  WITH  PABT  SECOND. 


m0^0t^^^t0*0*f»»>m0tM»t0ftmt»f0<t>t*f*»»f<i 


I. 

THE  GOLDEN  CHARTER  OF  KING  CHARLES  L 

The  following  is  the  translation  of  the  Charter  mnted  by 
Charles  I.  in  1636  to  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  uie  history 
of  which  we  have  given  at  page  93. 

'*  Charles,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of  Oreat  Britain,  France, 
and  Ireland,  Defender  of  the  Faith,  to  all  our  faithful  subjects, 
both  clergy  and  laity,  greeting:  Know  ye,  that  we  calling  to 
mind  the  many  great  and  faithful  services  done  by  the  Provost, 
Bailiffs,  Coun(nl,  community  and  inhabitants  of  our  dty  of  Edin- 
burgh, the  capital  and  chief  town  of  our  antient  kingdom  of  Scot- 
land, not  only  to  us,  from  the  time  of  our  happy  accession  to  the 
crown,  but  iJso  to  our  late  dear  father  of  eternal  memory,  and 
others  our  illustrious  progenitors,  kings  of  Scotland,  particularly 
mentioned  and  set  forth  in  the  charters  granted  to  them  by  our 
said  predecessors  of  eternal  memory,  which  remain  to  posterity  as 
so  many  instances  of  their  fidelity ;  as  doth  to  their  reputation  and 
praise,  the  many  great  and  remarkable  services  performed  by  tliem 
ifor  the  interest  and  honour  of  our  kingdom. 

We  also  considering,  that  a  doubt  has  lately  arisen,  concerning 
the  extension  of  the  new  charter  of  enfeofifment  granted  to  our 
said  city  by  our  late  dear  father,  dated  at  Holyroodhouse  the 
fifteenth  day  of  the  month  of  Mardi,  in  the  year  one  thousand  six 
hundred  and  three;  and  to  the  end  that  all  doubts  and  contro- 
versies may  be  removed  and  cease,  touching  the  said  charter,  whidi 
may  either  tend  to  our  prejudice  in  particular,  or  to  the  oommon- 
weall  or  kingdom  in  general;  they  of  their  own  free  will  and 
proper  motion,  humbly  appeared  before  the  lords  of  our  privy 
council,  on  the  twenty-eighth  day  of  the  month  of  January,  anno 
1630,  and  produced  in  presence  of  the  said  lords,  an  act  by  the 
Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council,  and  community  of  our  said  city,  sub- 
scribed  by  their   common   clerks,   dated   the   twenty-eighth   of 


196  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

January  aforesaid;  whereby  they  ratified  the  offer  made  by  our 
well  beloved  counsellor,  Mr.  John  Hay  our  clerk  registw  (therein 
intitled  Mr.  John  Hay  their  clerk  and  commissioner)  in  their 
name,  concerning  the  restriction  of  the  offices  of  sheriff  and  cor- 
oner, and  jurisdiction  thereof;,  contained  in  the  said  enfeoffment 
granted  in  the  year  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  three;  and 
holding  of  their  gild-courts  within  the  bounds  following;  contained 
in  the  offer  made  by  our  said  city  to  the  nobility  and  gentry  oi 
West  Lothian,  comprehending  the  lands  following,  viz.  our  town 
of  Edinburgh,  common  milb,  common  moor,  common  marsh  or 
royre,  lakes,  waUs,  and  ditches  of  the  same ;  the  villages  of  Leith 
and  Newhaven,  with  the  ports,  raids,  stations  of  ships,  bulwarks, 
piers,  shores,  and  the  eastern  and  western  Links  thereof;  the 
lands  called  the  Common  Closets,  Burse,  hoif,  halls,  and  other 
lands  properly  belonging  to  our  said  town ;  with  the  several  ways, 
paths,  streets,  roads,  and  passages  leading  to  and  from  our  said 
town,  and  to  and  from  the  villages  of  Leith  and  Newhaven;  and 
leadinfl:  through  the  common  moor  and  marshes,  which  are  either 
built  or  repaired  by  them,  as  far  as  the  said  moor  or  marshes  ex- 
tend; with  the  ways  and  streets  leading  to  and  from  their  com- 
mon mills  upon  the  river  of  Leith,  as  far  as  the  said  mills,  and 
mill-lands  belonging  to  our  said  town  do  extend. 

And  likewise  as  to  the  renunciation  made  in  favour  of  all  right 
of  regality  (if  any  such  there  be)  granted  to  them  or  their  prede- 
cessors; with  the  escheats  of  criminals  condemned  to  die;  and  also 
the  escheats  of  the  inhabitants  of  our  said  town,  who  are  de- 
nounced or  put  to  the  horn  for  civil  causes ;  with  all  other  extra- 
ordinary liberties  (if  any  such  there  be)  contained  in  the  said 
charter,  which  are  not  fit  to  be  granted  to  a  subject,  nor  have 
hitherto  been  granted,  neither  to  a  sheriff,  coroner  or  f^  burgh : 
And  also,  in  regard  to  a  renunciation  of  all  the  right  they  had, 
either  to  the  southern  or  northern  banks  of  our  Castle  of  Edin- 
burgh, without  prejudice  to  a  prior  gift,  which  our  said  town,  or 
any  of  its  burgesses  have  to  the  same;  and  without  any  alteration 
in  the  use  of  the  said  banks,  than  what  has  been  practised  in  for- 
mer times  past  the  memory  of  man. 

And  likewise,  containing  an  humble  petition,  that  we  would  be 
pleased  to  ratify  the  said  charter,  and  all  their  ancient  enfeoffinents 
therein  contained,  with  full  liberty,  and  the  sole  or  only  trade 
within  the  district  or  bounds  of  West  Lothian,  appertaining  to  a 
royal  free  burgh.  Together  with  the  said  offices  of  sheriff  and 
coroner  within  the  bounds  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  villages 
of  Leith  and  Newhaven,  and  others  above  and  hereafter  specified; 
with  all  the  customs,  petty  customs,  and  others  therein  contained, 
whereof  our  said  town  has  been  in  possession ;  with  all  the  liber- 
ties, privileges,  and  other  things  contained  in  the  said  enfeoffinents, 
conform  to  the  tenors  thereof. 

And  whereas  the  said  Provost,  Bailifis,  Council  and  community 


ANNALS.    '  197 

of  our  said  town,  have,  conform  to  the  said  act»  made  and  sub- 
acribed  a  full  and  ample  renunciation  and  resignation  of  the  pre* 
miaes  in  favour  of  us  and  our  successors;  we,  out  of  our  gracious 
respect  and  favour  towards  our  said  city  of  Edinburgh ;  and  as  an 
encouragement  for  them  to  persevere  in  their  good  and  faithful  ser- 
vices to  us  and  our  successors,  gratefuUy  accept  their  said  renun- 
dation  and  ratification;  and  ratify  thdr  said  enfeoffinents  with  the 
several  liberties  and  privileges  therein  contained,  exclusive  of  the 
particulars  above  mentioned  renounced  as  aforesaid. 

Wherefore  we,  after  our  lawful  and  perfect  age  of  twenty-five 
years,  and  after  all  our  revocations,  by  the  ad\ice  and  consent  of 
our  well  beloved  cousin  and  counsellor,  John,  Earl  of  Traquair, 
Lord  Linton  and  Caberston,  &c.  our  high-treasurer,  comptroller, 
collector,  and  treasurer  of  our  new  augmentations  of  our  kingdom 
of  Scotland ;  and  with  advice  of  the  other  lords  of  oiu*  exchequer 
of  our  said  kingdom  of  Scotland,  our  commissioners,  have  ratified 
and  approved,  and  by  this  our  present  charter  confirmed,  and  by 
the  tenor  hereof  ratify  and  approve,  and  for  us  and  our  successors 
perpetually  confirm  to  the  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council,  and  commu- 
nity of  our  said  city  of  Edinburgh  and  their  successors,  the  several 
charters,  enfeoffments,  donations,  and  other  things  hereunder 
specified,  vit. 

A  charter  made  and  granted  by  the  late  Bobert  Bruce,  King  of 
Scotland,  under  his  great  seal  to  the  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council,  and 
community  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  and  their  successors  of 
the  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  the  port  and  mills  of  Leith,  with  their 
appurtenances,  to  be  held  of  his  Majesty  and  his  successors,  with 
the  several  liberties  and  conveniences,  as  fully  and  freely  as  they 
were  in  the  time  of  King  Alexander,  his  predecessor,  of  happy 
memory,  for  payment  of  the  sum  of  fifty-two  marks  sterling  money 
in  manner  contained  in  the  said  charter:  Dated  at  Cardross,  the 
twenty-sixth  day  of  the  month  of  May,  in  the  24th  year  of  his 
reign. 

Also,  a  charter  granted  by  the  late  King  James  IIL  of  pious 
memory,  under  his  great  seal,  to  the  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council, 
and  communitv  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburs^h,  of  the  hereditarv 
offSce  of  sheriff*  within  our  said  town  and  liberties,  with  all  and 
singular  the  prinleges  and  immunities  therein  contained:  Dated 
the  sixteenth  day  of  the  month  of  Kovember,  in  the  year  one 
thousand  four  hundred  and  eighty-two,  in  the  twenty-third  year 
of  his  reign,  to  be  held  as  therein  mentioned. 

Likewise  a  charter  granted  by  the  said  late  King  James  III.  of 
good  memory  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council,  and  commu- 
nity of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  and  their  successors  for  ever ; 
of  all  and  sundry  the  customs  of  the  port  and  raid  of  Leith,  as  is 
more  fully  and  particularly  therein  inserted,  to  be  held  of  his 
Majesty  and  his  successors  in  manner  therein  contained:  Dated 
the  sixteenth  day  of  the  month  of  November,  in  the  year  one 


198  HISTORY  OP  EDINBUBGH. 

thousand  four  hundred  and  eighty-two,  and  of  his   reign  the 
twenty-third  year. 

And  in  like  manner,  a  charter  and  enfeoffinent  granted  by  the 
late  Robert  Logane  of  Lestairig,  knight,  under  his  seal,  to  the  Pro- 
vost, Baili&,  Council,  and  community  of  our  said  town  of  Edin- 
biu^h,  of  ail  the  several  ways  and  passages  leading  to  and  from 
the  harbour  of  Leith,  containing  also  <Svers  other  liberties,  pri- 
vileges, and  immunities  therein  mentioned,  to  be  held  in  manner 
therein  specified:  Dated  the  last  day  of  the  month  of  May,  anno 
one  thousand  three  hundred  and  ninety-eight. 

A  charter  of  confirmation  given  and  granted  by  the  late  King 
James  lY.  of  pious  memory,  under  his  great  seal,  to  the  said 
Provost,  Baili£&,  Council,  and  community  of  our  said  town  of  Ed- 
inburgh, and  their  successors,  confirming  the  aforesaid  two  char- 
ters above  written  by  the  said  King  James  IIL  of  good  memory, 
made  to  our  said  town,  of  the  tenor  and  contents  aforesaid.  And 
also  confirming  the  said  other  charter  made  by  the  said  late  Sir 
Robert  Logane,  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailiff  Council,  and  commu- 
nity of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  and  their  successors,  of  the 
date,  tenor,  and  contents  aforesaid;  which  charter  of  confirmation 
is  dated  at  Stirling,  the  ninth  day  of  the  month  of  March,  in  the 
year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  ten. 

Also  a  charter  made  and  granted  by  the  said  late  King  James 
IT.  under  his  great  seal,  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council,  and 
community  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  for  the  time,  and  their 
successors,  of  all  and  singular  the  lands  and  port  of  Newhaven, 
lying  and  bounded  as  therein  mentioned;  with  the  haven-silver, 
and  other  profits  and  duties  thereunto  belonging;  with  all  and 
singular  the  liberties  and  immunities  therein  contained  to  be  held 
as  therein  mentioned :  Dated  at  Stirling,  the  said  ninth  day  of  the 
month  of  March,  anno  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  ten. 

Likewise  a  charter  given  and  granted  by  our  late  dear  grand- 
father, and  grandmother,  Henry,  and  Queen  Mary,  after  their 
perfect  age,  under  their  great  seal,  to,  and  in  favour  of  the  said 
Provost,  Bailifis,  Council,  and  community  of  our  said  town  of 
Edinburgh,  and  their  successors,  the  superiority  of  the  village  of 
Leith,  and  appurtenances  thereof;  as  well  of  the  inhabitants  and 
indwellers  therein,  as  of  the  houses,  tenements,  annual-rents,  links, 
orchards,  profits,  duties,  services,  tenants,  tenancies,  and  service 
of  free  tenants,  with  their  pertinents,  as  more  fully  mentioned  and 
expressed  in  the  said  enfeoffment,  to  be  held  as  therein  specified : 
Dated  the  fourth  day  of  the  month  of  October,  in  the  year  one 
thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty-five,  and  of  their  reigns  the  first 
and  twentieth  years. 

Also  a  charter  (letter  of  assignation)  made  by  our  late  dear 
father,  under  his  great  seal,  granted  to  his  weU-beloved  coun- 
sellor. Sir  John  Maithind  of  Thirlestane,  knight,  his  chancellor 
and  secretary,  his  heirs  and  assigns,  constituting  him  and  them 


AKNAL&  199 

his  Migefttj's  undoubted  oosioDere  and  usigns,  in  and  to  a  letter 
of  reversion,  granted  bj  the  said  Provoat,  Bailiffs,  Council  and 
community  oi  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  to  the  aforesaid  late 
Queen  Mary,  our  dear  grandmother,  her  heirs  and  suooessors,  for 
redeeming  from  them  the  said  superiority  of  the  village  of  L^th, 
granted  to  them  under  the  reversion  of  the  sum  of  ten  thousand 
marks,  usual  money  of  our  kingdom  of  Scotland,  as  in  the  said 
assignation,  dated  the  twenty«seventh  day  of  the  month  of  July, 
anno  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  eighty-eeven,  more  fully  does 
appear;  together  with  the  act  of  parliament,  ratifying  and  approv- 
ing the  said  assignation,  dated  tlie  twenty-ninth  day  of  the  said 
month  of  July,  in  the  year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  eighty- 
seven  ;  witl)  the  renunciation  of  the  said  reversion,  made  by  John 
Lord  Thirlestane,  son  and  heir  of  the  said  late  Sir  John  Maitland, 
lord  chancellor,  with  advice  and  consent  of  Sir  Richard  Cockbume 
of  Clerkington,  knight,  his  testamentary  tutor,  in  favour  of  the 
said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council,  Deacons  of  crafts,  and  community 
of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh:  Dated  the  twenty-eighth  day  of 
the  month  of  December,  anno  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  four: 
Together  with  the  ratification  of  the  said  discharge,  and  renuncia- 
tion of  the  aforesaid  reversion,  granted  by  the  said  John,  Lord 
Thirlestane,  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council,  Deacons  of 
crafts,  and  community  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh :  Dated  the 
twenty-fourth  day  of  the  month  of  November,  in  the  yesr  one 
thousand  six  hundred  and  four. 

Likewise  a  charter  granted  by  our  late  dear  father,  under  his 
great  seal,  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council,  and  community 
of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  port  and 
harbour  of  Leith,  making  and  constituting  them  judges  between 
the  owners,  masters  of  ships,  and  mariners  in  Leith,  and  all  other 
owners,  masters,  and  sailors,  as  well  our  own  subjects  as  foreigners, 
with  th&T  ships,  barks,  and  boats,  within  the  said  port  and  town 
of  Leith  for  the  time,  in  all  maritime  affairs  and  actions,  and  other 
causes  whatever,  with  a  power  to  make  acts  and  statutes  for  the 
benefit  of  navigation  within  the  said  village  of  Leitli. 

And  also,  give  and  grant  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffe,  Council, 
and  community  of  our  said  town,  the  pryme-gilt  to  be  paid  out  of 
the  freight  of  every  tun  of  merchandise,  and  be  applied  towards 
the  maintenance  of  poor  and  indigent  sailors  within  the  said  vH- 
lage  of  Leith,  as  set  forth  in  the  said  diarter;  with  all  and  singu- 
lar the  liberties,  privileges,  and  immunities  therein  specified,  to  be 
held  as  therein  mentioned:  Dated  at  Whitehall,  the  third  day  of 
the  month  of  April,  anno  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixteen. 

And  in  like  numner,  a  charter  granted  by  our  late  dear  father, 
uuder  his  great  seal,  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council,  Bur- 
gesses, and  community  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  and  their 
successors,  ratifying  and  appro\'ing  all  former  enfeoffments  granted 
to  them  by  lus  Majesty's  predecessors,  of  the  hereditary  offices  of 


200  HISTORY  OF  EDIKBUBGH- 

sheriff  and  coroner.  Also  concerning  a  new  grant  of  the  said 
offices  of  sheriff  and  coroner  to  our  said  town  of  Edinbiu^h,  with 
the  common  mills,  common  moor,  common  myre,  lalces,  ports, 
streets,  ways,  lanes,  paths,  and  passages,  leading  to  and  firom  our 
said  town ;  especially  the  passages  on  both  sides  the  river,  leading 
to  and  from  our  said  town  to  the  villages  of  Leith  and  Newhaven, 
and  ports  thereof;  and  within  the  ports  of  the  villages  of  New- 
haven  and  Leith,  harbours,  ports,  raids,  and  bulwarks  or  forts  of 
the  same;  and  within  the  lands  of  the  Common  Closets,  Burse, 
holf,  streets,  ways,  paths,  passages,  lands  and  bounds  whatsoever; 
lying  within  the  liberties  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  and  vil- 
lage of  Leith  on  the  southern  side  the  river  thereof;  with  a 
power  to  register  all  letters  of  homing  and  inhibition,  executed 
against  what  person  soever,  dwelling  within  our  said  town  of  Ed- 
inburgh, village  of  Leith,  and  bounds  aforesaid :  And  against  all 
persons,  proprietors  of  lands  and  tenements  within  the  same,  against 
whom  the  said  letters  of  homing  and  inhibition  shall  be  executed. 
With  all  other  liberties,  commodities,  and  privOeges  therein  con- 
tained: Dated  at  Whitehall,  the  third  day  of  the  month  of  April, 
in  the  year  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixteen. 

Likewise  a  gift  given  and  granted  by  our  said  late  dear  father, 
under  his  great  seal,  to  the  said  Provost,  BailifB,  CouncO,  and 
community  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  of  having  a  sword 
borne  before  the  Provost  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  within 
the  liberties  of  the  said  town,  and  at  riding  the  marches  or  bounds 
of  the  jurisdiction  of  our  said  town:  And  of  the  office  of 
justices  of  the  peace,  in  manner  therein  mentioned,  and  all  and 
singular  the  liberties  and  immunities  therein  specified:  Dated  at 
Whitehall,  the  tenth  day  of  the  month  of  November,  in  the  year 
one  thousand  six  hundred  and  nine. 

Also,  a  donation  and  enfeoffinent  of  the  justiciary  ^  of  peace, 
granted  by  our  said  late  dear  father,  under  his  great  seal,  to  the 
said  Provost,  Bailiffii,  Council,  and  community  of  our  said  town  of 
Edinburgh,  within  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  village  of  Leith,  and 
bounds  thereof:  Dated  at  Hampton  Court,  the  twenty-fifth  day 
of  the  month  of  September,  in  the  year  one  thousand  six  hundred 
and  twelve. 

And  in  like  manner,  the  gift  and  enfeofihient  granted  by  our 
said  late  dear  father,  under  his  great  seal,  to  the  said  Provost, 
Bailiffs,  Council,  and  community  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh, 
of  all  fines,  amerciaments,  and  other  things  belonging  to  the  offices 
of  sheriffs,  and  justices  of  the  peace,  within  the  bounds  of  their 
respective  jurisdictions:  Dated  at  Wliitehall,  the  seventeenth  day 
of  the  month  of  April,  anno  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  thir- 
teen. 

Also  letters  of  donation,  granted  by  our  said  late  dear  &ther, 
under  his  great  seal,  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailifis,  Council,  and 
community  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  and  their  successors,  a 


AKKALS.  201 

duty  of  foar  pounds  Scottish  iDonev  out  of  every  tun  of  wine, 
bought  for  sale,  and  sold  by  retail  within  our  said  town,  liberties 
and  jurisdictions  of  the  same,  to  be  collected  by  them,  their  col- 
lectorsy  treasurers  and  otliers  in  their  names,  from  the  drawers, 
vintners,  tapsters  and  sellers  of  the  same  in  all  times  coming: 
Dated  at  Wliitehall  the  tenth  day  of  the  month  of  November,  anno 
one  thousand  six  hundred  and  nine;  together  with  a  ratification 
of  the  said  gift  and  new  disposition  of  &e  aforesaid  duty  of  four 
pounds  of  every  tun  of  wine  bought  for  sale,  and  sold  by  retail 
within  our  said  town,  hberties  and  jurisdiction  thereof,  and  in  ail 
parts  within  the  village  of  8outh  Leith,  to  be  collected  from  the 
retaDers  of  the  said  wine  in  all  times  coming:  Dated  at  Hampton 
Court  the  twenty-fifth  day  of  the  month  of  September,  in  the  year 
one  thousand  six  hundred  and  twelve. 

Likewise  a  gift  and  privilege  under  the  privy  seal,  granted  by 
our  said  late  dear  father  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailifis,  Council  and 
community  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  and  their  successors 
to  erect  a  weigh-house  at  the  upper  trone  oif  our  said  town,  with 
divers  liberties,  privileges,  immuuities  imd  duties  therein  contained : 
Given  at  Royston  the  ninth  day  of  the  month  of  December,  anno 
one  thousand  six  hundred  and  eleven. 

And  in  like  manner,  a  charter  granted  by  our  said  late  dear  father, 
under  his  great  seal,  to  the  said  Provost,  BailifiTs,  Council  and  com- 
munity of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  all  that  part  of  the  lands 
called  the  High-rigs,  containing  ten  acres  of  ground,  or  there- 
abouts, lying,  bounded,  and  to  be  held  as  specified  in  the  said 
charter:  Dated  at  Edinburgh  the  thirtieth  day  of  the  month  of 
July,  in  the  year  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighteen. 

Also  a  gift  given  and  granted  by  our  said  late  dear  father,  un- 
der his  great  seal,  to  the  Provost,  Bailifis,  Council  and  community 
of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  of  the  gauging  of  salmon,  herring 
and  white  fish,  packed  and  peilled  within  our  kingdom  of  Scot- 
land: Dated  at  Bovston  the  nineteenth  dnv  of  the  month  of  Go- 
tober,  anno  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighteen. 

Likewise  a  donation  granted  by  our  said  late  dear  father,  under  his 
great  seal  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailififs,  Council  and  community  of 
our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  appointing  them  sur\'eyors  and  over- 
seers of  all  works,  visitors,  searchers,  measurers  and  sealers,  or 
stampers  of  all  doth,  Flemish  stuffs  and  stockings  made  witliin  the 
said  town,  village  of  Leith,  and  our  sheriffwick  of  Edinburgh,  as 
mentioned  in  the  said  gift,  which  contains  divers  other  liberties,  im- 
munities and  duties,  under  the  provision  therein  specified :  Dated 
at  Whitehall  the  eighth  day  of  the  month  of  March,  in  the  year 
one  thousand  six  hundred  and  twenty-one. 

A  charter  given  and  granted  by  our  said  late  dear  grandmother, 
Queen  Mary,  under  her  great  seal,  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailififs, 
Council  and  community  of  our  said  town,  and  their  successors,  of 
all  and  singular  the  lands,  tenements,  houses,  buildings,  churches, 


202  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

ohapelries,  gard^M,  orofaards,  crofta,  anniud  rents,  tithes,  services, 
profits,  duties,  emoluments,  farmsy  alms,  dail-sOver,  obits,  and  an- 
niversaries, which  belonged  to  whatever  chapelries,  altarages,  and 
prebendaries,  in  whatsoever  churches,  chapels  or  colleges,  within 
the  Uberty  of  our  said  town,  founded  bj  whatsoever  patron,  in 
whose  possession  the  said  chapelries  or  prebendaries  were,  wher- 
ever the  same  lie  within  our  kingdom  of  Scotland,  or  within  or 
without  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh ;  with  all  the  lands  which  ap- 
pertained to  the  Dominicans  and  Franciscans,  commonlv  called 
the  Blackfriars  and  Grayfriars ;  with  divers  other  lands,  more  fully 
set  forth  in  the  said  charter:  Dated  the  thirteenth  day  of  the 
month  of  March,  in  the  y.0ar  one  thousand  five  hundred  and 
sizty-siz. 

And  in  like  manner,  a  charter  granted  by  our  said  late  dear 
father,  under  his  great  seal,  dated  at  Stirling  the  fourteenth  day 
of  the  month  of  April,  anno  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  eighty- 
two,  whereby  he  ratified  and  confirmed  the  said  first  charter, 
granted  by  his  late  dear  mother,  of  the  said  lands  and  things 
aforesaid,  dated  the  said  thirteenth  day  of  the  month  of  March, 
in  the  year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty-six«  And  also 
ratifies  and  confirms  the  demission  and  renunciation  made  by  John 
Gib,  of  his  right  to  the  provostry  of  the  Kirk  of  Field,  with  all 
the  houses,  lands  and  buildings  thereunto,  belonging,  in  favour  of 
our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  by  which  our  said  late  dear  father 
gave,  granted  and  disponed  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailiff,  Council 
and  community  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  and  their  succes- 
sors, liberty  and  license  to  erect  a  college,  and  to  build  and  repair 
houses,  and  proper  apartments  for  reception  of  professors  of 
humanity,  letters  and  languages,  philosophy,  theology,  physic, 
law,  and  all  other  liberal  sciences:  And  to  elect  professors,  suffi- 
cient to  teach  the  said  professions;  and  to  that  end,  gave,  granted 
and  disponed  to  them  and  their  successors,  the  provostry  of  the 
Kirk  of  Field,  with  the  lands,  tenements,  fruits,  possessions,  rents, 
duties,  and  their  appurtenances. 

Also  a  charter  made  and  granted  by  our  said  late  dear  father, 
under  his  great  seal,  dated  the  fourth  day  of  the  month  of  May, 
in  the  year  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  eighty-four;  whereby 
our  said  late  dear  father  considering,  that  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffi^ 
Council  and  community  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  had  been 
at  great  expenses,  and  disbursed  large  sums  of  money  in  erecting 
the  said  college,  building  houses,  and  endowing  the  same  with 
great  sums  of  money,  for  the  maintenance  of  the  professors  of 
humanity,  philosophy  and  divinity  within  the  same,  for  the  in- 
struction of  youth  therein:  Gave,  granted  and  disponed  to  the 
said  Provost,  Bailifis,  Council  and  community  of  our  said  town, 
for  the  use  of  the  said  college,  and  support  of  the  rectors  and 
regents  therein,  the  whole  archdeaconry  of  Lothian,  consisting  of 


ANKAL&  203 

the  reotorv  of  Curry,  ptrsonage-houBe,  glebe,  churdb-knds,  tithes, 
fruits,  rents,  profits  and  duties  thereof. 

Likewise,  a  charter  made  and  granted  by  our  late  dear  &ther, 
under  bis  great  seal,  dated  the  twenty-sizth  day  of  the  month  of 
May,  anno  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  eighty-seven ;  by  which 
our  said  late  dear  father  considering  the  great  ezpences  and  sums 
of  money  laid  out  by  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council  and  com- 
munity of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  in  erecting  an  hospital, 
maintaining  thdr  ministers,  and  supporting  their  coUege  aforesaid, 
gave,  granted,  and  disponed  to  the  said  Provost,  Baitiffs,  Council 
and  community  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  and  their  suc- 
cessors, the  provostry  of  the  Trinity  college,  lands,  houses,  rents, 
churches,  tithes,  and  other  fruits,  rents,  and  emoluments  thereunto 
annexed. 

A  charter  made  and  granted  by  our  said  late  dear  father,  under 
his  great  seal,  dated  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  the  month  of  July, 
anno  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  ratifying  the 
enfeofiment  granted  by  himself,  and  by  the  said  late  Queen  Mary, 
his  mother,  of  the  said  church-lands,  Trinity  college,  provostry  of 
the  Kirk  of  Field,  and  archdeaconry  of  Lothian;  containing 
also  a  new  gift  of  all  the  said  churches,  provostry  of  the  Trinity 
coU^pe,  and  archdeaconry  of  Lothian,  with  the  several  lands  and 
tithes  thereunto  belonging,  for  the  use  of  the  ministers,  coUege, 
and  poor. 

La  like  manner,  a  charter  given  and  granted  by  our  said  late 
dear  father,  under  his  great  seal,  dated  at  Beauvoir  Castle,  the 
seventh  day  of  the  monUi  of  August,  in  the  year  one  thousand  six 
hundred  and  twelve;  containing  a  ratification  of  all  former  rights 
granted  to  our  said  tow^  of  Edinburgh,  of  the  said  church-lands, 
provostrj'  of  the  Kirk  of  Field,  provostry  of  the  Trinitj-  college, 
and  archdeaconry  of  Lothian.  Together  with  a  new  gift  of  all 
the  said  church-lands,  benefices,  and  other  things  therein  con- 
tained, to  be  applied  by  the  said  Provost  and  Bailiffs,  and  their 
successors,  towards  the  maintenance  of  their  ministers,  college,  and 
poor;  in  all  the  several  points,  steps,  heads,  articles,  clauses,  con- 
ditions, privileges,  liberties,  immunities,  and  circumstances  what- 
ever, contained  in  the  said  enfeofiments,  charters,  gifts,  and  other 
things  particularly  above  mentioned ;  and  in  every  one  of  them, 
according  to  the  form  and  tenor  tliereof ;  providing  always,  that 
the  ratification  of  the  said  charters,  enfeofiments,  and  things  afore- 
said shall  noways  comprehend  or  be  extended  to  a  right  of  re- 
gality, if  any  such  there  be  comprehended  in  any  of  the  said  con- 
firmed rights  and  enfeoffments;  nor  shall  be  farther  extended  to 
the  hereditary  offices  of  sheriff  and  coroner,  and  jurisdiction 
thereof;  or  to  the  holding  of  guild  courts,  but  only  within  the 
bounds  of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  common  miUs,  common 
moor,  oommon  marsh,  or  m^Te,  lakes,  walls,  and  ditches;  and 
within  the  villages  of  Leith  and  Newhaven,  ports,  harbours,  bul* 


204  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

warkSy  shores,  piers,  raids,  links,  both  eestem  and  western,  the 
lands  called  the  Common  Closets,  Burse,  holf,  halls,  and  other 
lands,  the  property  of  our  said  town,  ways,  streets,  paths,  and 
passages  leading  to  and  from  our  said  town  of  Edinbui^h ;  and  to 
and  firom  the  said  villages  of  Leith  and  Newhaven ;  and  the  ways, 
paths,  streets,  and  passages  leading  through  their  common  moor, 
and  marsh,  which  were  made,  and  are  by  them  repaired  as  far  as 
the  said  moor  and  marsh  extended.  And  their  ways  and  streets 
leading  to  and  from  their  common  mills,  on  both  sides  the  river  of 
Leith,  as  far  as  the  said  mills,  mill-lands,  and  other  things  belong- 
ing to  them  extend.  And  that  the  ratification  of  the  said  charters 
shall  noways  imply  an  impediment,  hindrance,  or  prejudice  to  us 
and  our  successors,  in  our  right  and  royal  prerogative,  to  erect 
boroughs  of  regality,  or  barony,  in  any  other  part  of  the  county 
of  West  Lothian,  within  the  bounds  of  the  )sheriff  and  coronarv  to 
which  the  same  is  confined  as  aforesaid:  With  this  declaration 
always,  tliat  the  restriction  of  the  said  offices  of  sheriff  and  cor- 
oner, and  others  aforesaid,  to  the  bounds  above  mentioned,  shall 
infer  no  prejudice  or  hurt  to  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  or  in- 
habitants thereof,  touching  their  power,  privilege,  and  liberty  of 
the  sole  and  only  trade  of  merchandise,  within  tlie  bounds  of 
West  Lotliian,  belonging  to  them  as  a  royal  free  burgh. 

And  likewise,  that  the  said  ratification  of  the  enfeoffinents  and 
charters  above  specified,  shall  noways  extend  to  any  right  that  the 
said  town  or  their  successors  have,  or  can  pretend  to  the  escheats 
of  criminals  convicted  before  them  to  die;  nor  to  the  escheats  of 
any  of  the  inhabitants  within  the  bounds  of  their  said  sheriffwick 
and  coronary  (restricted  as  aforesaid)  already  denounced,  or  who 
hereafter  shall  be  denounced  or  put  to  the  horn,  either  for  civil  or 
criminal  causes.  And  also,  that  the  said  restriction  shall  noways 
extend  to  the  southern  and  northern  banks  of  our  Castle  of  Edin- 
burgh, without  prejudice  always  to  any  lawful  right  they,  or  the 
Burgesses  of  our  said  town  may  have  to  the  same,  preceding  the 
fifth  day  of  the  month  of  March,  in  the  year  one  thousand  six 
hundred  and  three:  And  without  innovation  or  prejudice  to  our 
said  town  and  their  successors,  of  the  use  of  the  said  southern 
bank,  conform  to  the  practice  of  former  times,  beyond  the  memory 
of  man. 

Moreover,  it  is  declared,  that  the  particulars  above  specified, 
excepted  from  the  said  ratification,  are,  and  shall  be  held  as  ex- 
cepted, not  only  out  of  the  said  charters  and  enfeoffments,  ratified 
by  this  our  present  charter;  but  also  from  all  other  enfeofiinents, 
rights,  and  titles,  made  and  granted  by  our  predecessors  to  our 
said  town,  at  any  time  preceding  the  day  and  date  of  this  our 
present  charter,  without  prejudice  to  our  well-beloved  cousin  and 
counsellor,  James,  Duke  of  Lennox,  high  admiral  and  chamberlain 
of  our  kingdom  of  Scotland,  his  heirs  and  successors  in  right  of 
the  said  offices,  as  to  any  right,  title  or  claim  he  or  they  may  have 


AKNAL&  205 

to  any  of  the  liberties,  privileges,  jurisdictions,  oommodities,  or 
other  things  contained  in  the  enfeoffments  above  specified,  granted 
to  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh  and  their  predecessors,  and  ratified 
by  us  in  their  favour  according  to  law.  And  that  the  said  ad- 
xmral  and  chamberlain,  and  others  aforesaid,  and  our  said  town  of 
Edinburgh,  and  their  successors,  shall  be  and  remain  in  the  same 
state  and  condition  as  to  all  the  rights  and  privDeges  touching  the 
said  offices,  as  they  were  in  before  the  day  and  date  of  this  our 
present  charter,  as  if  this  our  present  ratification  had  never  been 
granted. 

And  in  like  manner,  we,  with  the  advice  and  consent  aforesaid, 
will  and  grants  and  for  us  and  our  successors,  appoint  and  ordain, 
that  this  our  present  ratification  of  the  charters,  enfeofiments,  gifts 
and  things  pairticularly  above  specified,  always  with  and  under  the 
several  restrictions,  exceptions,  reservations,  and  provisions  above 
mentioned;  which  being  held  as  if  repeated  in  tliis  our  present 
charter,  is,  and  shall,  in  all  respects,  be  of  as  great  force,  strength, 
and  value,  as  if  all  the  aforesaid  enfeofifments,  charters,  gifts,  and 
things  above  written,  were,  word  by  word  inserted  in  this  our 
present  charter,  notwitlistanding  the  not  inserting  thereof,  or  con- 
cerning the  not  inserting  whereof,  or  all  that  has  followed  or  may 
foUow  thereon :  We,  for  us  and  our  successors,  have  dispensed,  and 
by  the  tenor  of  this  our  present  charter,  dispenses  for  ever. 

Also  we,  with  the  advice  and  consent  aforesaid,  and  by  the 
tenor  of  this  our  pretent  charter,  ratify  and  approve  the  several 
heads  and  articles  of  the  agreement  made  between  the  said  Pro- 
vost, Bailififs,  Council,  and  community  of  our  said  city  of  Edin- 
burgh,' and  ministers  within  the  said  city,  contained  in  an  act  of 
our  privy  council  made  concerning  the  same,  dated  the  first  day 
of  the  month  of  November,  anno  one  thousand  six  hundred  and 
twenty-five.  And  the  said  act  of  council  made  concerning  the 
same,  of  the  date  aforesaid,  in  all  and  singular,  the  points,  clauses, 
and  conditions  therein  contained ;  and  especially  without  prejudice 
of  the  aforesaid  generality;  and  that  the  clause  thereof,  whereby 
it  was  agreed  that  the  said  Provost,  Bailififs,  Council,  and  com- 
munity of  our  said  city  of  Edinburgh,  and  their  successors,  shall 
have  ^e  right,  title,  and  privilege  to  nominate  and  present  the 
several  ministers  to  serve  the  cures  of  all  the  churches  within  our 
said  town  of  Edinburgh,  in  all  times  coming.  And  we  will,  grant, 
declare  and  ordain,  that  this  our  present  ratification  of  the  heads 
and  articles  particularly  above  specified,  is,  and  shall  be  of  as  great 
force,  power,  strength,  and  efifect,  as  if  they  were  at  full  length 
inserted  in  this  our  present  charter ;  wherefore  we,  for  us  and  our 
successors,  by  this  our  present  charter  dis])ense  for  ever. 

Moreover,  we,  with  the  advice  and  consent  aforesaid,  and  by 
virtue  of  this  our  present  charter,  give  and  grant  to  the  said  Pro- 
vost, Bailififs,  Council,  and  community  of  our  said  tovm  of  Edin- 
burgh, and  their  successors,  for  ever,  the  nomination  and  pre- 


206  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBUBQH. 

sentatioQ  of  the  several  ministers,  for  serving  the  cures  within  the 
respective  churches  of  our  said  city  of  Edmburgh,  ahreadj  built, 
or  hereafter  may  happen  to  be  built  within  the  said  city  in  all 
times  coming;  together  with  the  right  of  patronage  of  the  said 
churches  for  ever;  with  full  power  to  the  {foresaid  Provost,  Bai^ 
li£&.  Council,  and  community  of  our  said  city,  and  their  successors, 
in  all  times  coming,  of  nominating  and  presenting  persons  qualified 
to  serve  the  said  cures  within  the  several  churches  of  our  said  city, 
as  often  as  they  shall  become  vacant,  by  death,  deprivation,  de« 
mission,  or  otherwise. 

Besides,  we  considering,  that  our  said  late  dear  father,  of  eter* 
nal  memory,  and  the  three  estates  of  parliament,  by  their  special 
act  and  statute,  of  the  fourth  day  of  the  month  of  August,  in  the 
year  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  twenty-one,  did  of  new  give, 
grant  and  dispone  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailiff,  Council,  and  com- 
munity of  our  said  town  of  Edinburgh,  and  their  successors,  all 
our  said  town,  the  ports  and  harbours  of  Leith  and  Newhaven, 
with  the  bounds  thereof  and  passages  leading  to  and  from  our 
said  town  through  the  lands  of  Lestalrig. 

And  in  like  manner,  the  aforesaid  superiority  of  Leith,  with  the 
said  offices  of  sheriff  and  justices  of  the  peace  within  our  said  town 
of  Edinburgh,  village  of  Leith,  and  ports  of  Leith  and  Newhaven, 
and  liberties  thereof,  with  other  bounds  particularly  above  men- 
tioned, and  jurisdiction  of  the  said  port  and  harbour  of  Leith ; 
together  with  the  said  pryme-gilt,  to  be  received  to  the  use  afore- 
said; the  said  ten  acres  of  the  lands  of  High-rigs,  with  as  full  and 
ample  privileges  and  immunities,  as  are  contained  in  the  particular 
charters,  enfeofiments,  and  .other  things  above  specified,  to  be  held 
of  his  Majesty  and  his  successors,  as  mentioned  in  the  several  en- 
feofiments  and  rights  granted  to  the  said  town  of  Edinburgh  con- 
cerning the  same. 

And  for  their  better  security,  our  said  late  dear  father,  by  ad- 
vice of  the  said  estates,  did  dissolve  the  said  town,  ports,  harbours, 
offices,  pryme-gilt,  ten  acres  of  land,  and  others  particularly  above 
specified,  from  his  crown,  and  from  all  acts  of  parliament  made 
concerning  the  same;  in  so  far  as  they,  or  any  parts  thereof  were 
annexed,  or  appear  to  have  been  heretofore  annexed  thereto,  to 
the  end  particularly  above  mentioned ;  and  did  annul  all  the  several 
acts  and  statutes,  which  could  be  prejudicial  of  derogatory  to  the 
premises,  as  in  the  said  acts  of  parliament,  of  the  date  aforesaid, 
more  fully  does  appear;  wherefore,  and  for  the  many  good  and 
faithful  services  done  to  us  by  our  said  city  of  Edinburgh,  and  as 
an  encouragement  for  them  to  persevere  therein,  and  perform  the 
like  in  times  coming,  We,  of  our  certain  knowledge  and  mere  mo- 
tion, with  the  advice  and  consent  aforesaid,  have  of  new  given, 
granted  and  disponed,  and  by  this  our  present  charter  conf^ed, 
and  by  the  tenor  hereof  do  of  new  give,  grant  and  dispone,  and 
for  us  and  our  successors  perpetually  confirm  to  the  aforesaid 


ANNALS.  207 


Provost,  Bulifb,  Coimcil,  and  oommunity  of  our  aaid  town  of  Ed- 
inburgh, and  their  successors,  all  and  singular  our  said  city  of 
Edinburgh,  walls,  ditches,  ports,  streets,  paths,  passages,  lands, 
territories  and  oommunity  thereof,  miUs,  mill-lands,  multures, 
rivers,  banks,  heughs,  parts  and  appurtenances  of  the  same;  to- 
gether with  all  the  common  lands  of  our  said  city,  called  the  com- 
mon moor,  both  eastern  and  western,  and  common  myre  of  the 
same,  as  well  arable  as  unarable,  wiUi  all  the  houses,  buildings, 
gardens,  tofts  and  crofts,  with  their  rightful  appurtenanoes,  as 
possessed  by  the  said  Provost,  Bailifb,  Council  and  oommunity  of 
our  said  dty,  their  feuars,  farmers  and  tenants  of  the  same;  with 
the  South  Loch,  called  the  Borough  Loch,  ground,  land,  marshes, 
and  myres  thereof;  and  all  the  other  lake  of  our  said  city,  called 
the  Nordloch,  soil^  land,  marshes  and  myres  of  the  same:  And 
also  all  the  said  ten  acres  of  the  High-rigs,  bounded  u  afore- 
said; with  the  twelve  common  mills  of  our  said  city,  at  present 
ntuated  on  both  sides  the  river  of  Leith,  mill-lands,  aqueducts, 
houses,  buildings,  bridges,  heughs,  banks,  streets  and  passages, 
leading  to  and  from  the  said  imils,  multures,  knaveships,  sukens, 
thirlage,  parts,  pendicles,  pertinents,  and  sequels,  with  their  several 
privil^es  and  appurtenances;  with  power  to  tliem  and  their 
successors,  to  erect  more  mills,  and  bridges  by  and  over  the  said 
river  of  Leith  at  their  pleasure,  in  such  place  or  places,  as  they 
shall  judge  most  convenient. 

And  sSso  all  the  vale  and  low  lands,  with  the  banks,  meadows, 
marshes  and  fenny  grounds,  with  their  appurtenances,  lying  be- 
tween the  rocks  called  the  Craigendgate,  on  the  eastern  side,  and 
the  common  way  or  passage  leading  to  the  village  of  Leith,  on  the 
western  part;  together  with  the  lands  anciently  called  the  Green- 
side,  with  the  Lepers*  hospital  and  garden  situate  thereon,  with 
the  arable  and  other  lands  thereunto  belonging,  banks,  marshes, 
bogs,  and  their  appurtenances,  as  they  are  at  present  let  and  oc- 
cupied by  the  lepers  of  the  said  hospital,  and  the  said  Provost, 
Bailiflk,  and  Council,  and  their  tenants  or  farmers,  lying  on  rlie 
northern  side  of  the  said  vale  and  low  ground,  on  the  eastern  side 
of  the  way  leading  to  Leith,  with  the  aforesaid  port,  customs,  har- 
bour, soil  and  raid  of  Leith,  and  appurtenanoes  thereof,  with  all 
the  forts,  piers,  shores  and  bulwarks  of  the  same,  and  their  per- 
tinents ;  together  with  the  several  liberties  and  pri\dleges  belong- 
ing to  the  inhabitants  of,  and  within  the  said  village  of  Leith, 
granted  to  our  said  town'of  Edinburgh,  by  the  said  late  Sir  Robert 
Logane  of  Lestalrig,  knight,  by  virtue  of  hb  charter,  dated  the 
thirty-first  day  of  May,  in  the  year  one  thousand  three  hundred 
and  ninety-eight,  with  all  the  streets,  ways  and  passages  leading 
to  the  said  v^lage  of  Leith  on  both  sides  of  the  said  port,  harbour 
and  river  of  Leith ;  and  thence,  till  it  joins  the  walls  of  the  houscb 
and  tenements  standing  on  both  sides  of  the  said  port,  and  har- 
bour, with  all  the  commodities,  conveniences,  privileges  and  im- 


208  HISTORY  OF  EDIXBURGH. 

inanities  belonging  thereto;  and  especially  the  privileges,  customs, 
haven-silver,  anchorage,  dock-silver,  golden-pennies,  sbore-sUver, 
exactions,  rents,  duties  and  casualties  of  the  said  port,  harbour, 
raid  and  village  of  Leith,  whereof  the  said  Provost  and  Baili£&, 
and  thw  successors,  are  and  have  been  in  possession  past  the 
memory  of  man;  with  the  duty  of  pryme-gilt,  to  be  raised  out  of 
the  freight  of  every  tun  of  goods,  as  contained  in  the  enfeoffment 
granted  by  our  said  late  dear  father,  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailiff 
and  Council  of  £dinbiu*gh:  Dated  at  Whitehall  the  third  day  of 
the  month  of  April,  anno  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixteen. 

And  in  like  manner,  all  the  grounds  and  lands,  commonly  called 
the  Common  Closets,  but  at  present  denominated  the  Burse,  with 
the  enclosure  fenced  with  wood,  near  the  northern  end  of  the  said 
town,  and  eastern  side  of  the  port  of  Leith,  and  eastern  bulwark 
thereof:  And  also  all  the  waste  grounds  or  sands  by  the  sea,  lying 
on  the  eastern  and  northern  parts,  together  with  the  said  Burse 
and  enclosure,  shall  be  by  them  enlarged,  and  by  proper  fences  or 
enclosures  extended  as  far  within  the  flux  and  reflux  of  the  sea, 
as  may  be  gained  and  converted  into  dry  ground:  And  likewise 
the  two  pieces  of  land  adjoining,  with  the  houses  thereon,  in  pos- 
session of  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs  and  Council;  one  whereof  con- 
tains in  breadth  from  east  to  west,  fifty-one  ells,  and  in  length 
from  south  to  north  sixty-three  eUs,  with  the  fort  and  mount 
thereof,  and  houses  situate  thereon,  called  Little  London,  lying 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  said  village  of  Leith ;  and  the  other 
spot  or  piece  of  ground,  of  the  same  length  and  breadth,  lying 
on  the  southern  side  of  the  aforesaid  piece  of  land,  is  bounded 
by  the  Links  on  the  eastern  and  southern  sides,  and  by  the  com- 
mon passage  on  the  western  side,  with  all  the  ground  and  land 
where  the  western  bulwark  of  the  harbour  of  Leith  is  situated  on 
the  western  side  of  the  said  river  of  Leith,  and  port  aforesaid ; 
together  with  the  waste  ground  and  sands  encompassing  the  said 
western  bulwark  within  the  course  of  the  tide :  And  also  all  the 
said  village  and  lands  of  Newhaven,  and  bounds  thereof,  extend- 
ing from  St.  Nicholas's  chapel  on  the  east,  and  Wairdie-brow  on 
the  west,  witli  the  port,  estuary,  or  arm  of  the  sea,  and  raid  there- 
of, with  the  Links,  houses,  buildings,  lands,  and  their  appurte* 
nances;  with  the  several  privileges,  liberties  and  customa belonging 
to  the  same,  viz.  haven-silver,  shore-silver,  anchorage,  dock-silver, 
golden-pennies,  customs,  imposts,  shore-fees,  exactions,  rents,  pro- 
fits, farms,  duties  and  casualties  thereof;  with  the  several  ways 
and  passages  leading  to  and  from  the  said  port  of  Newhaven  to 
our  said  city  of  Edinburgh,  as  fully  and  freely,  as  the  same  are 
and  have  been  enjoyed  and  possessed  by  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs, 
and  their  predecessors,  time  out  of  mind. 

And  we  have  united,  erected,  and  incorporated,  and  by  the 
tenor  of  this  our  present  charter,  unite,  erect  and  incorporate  all 
the  said  lands,  ports,  harbours,  customs,  bulwarks,  and  other 


ANNAL&  209 

things  above  mentioiDed,  to  our  said  oity  of  Edinburgh ;  and  erect 
the  same  into  a  royal  <nty,  with  all  the  rights,  liberties,  privileges 
and  immunities  appertaining  to  a  city  or  royal  burgh:  Providmg 
always,  that  the  annexation  or  union  of  the  said  places,  lying  with- 
out our  said  city  of  Edinburgh,  shall  infer  neither  power  nor 
liberty  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  places,  united  as  aforesaid,  to  use 
or  exercise  the  trade  of  merchandise,  without  the  special  license 
and  approbation  of  the  said  Provost,  Bailifis  and  Council  of  our 
said  ci:^  of  Edinburgh,  with  power  to  the  said  Provost,  Baili^  and 
Council  of  our  said  ci^,  both  present  and  to  come,  and  their  suc- 
cessors in  all  times  hereafter,  to  leet  and  chuse  their  magistrates. 
Provost,  Bailifb,  Dean  of  Gild,  Treasurer  and  Council,  as  freelv 
as  any  other  burgh  royal  withhi  our  said  kingdom  of  Scotland, 
and  in  as  iree  a  manner  as  ever  was  used  in  former  times;  together 
with  the  privilege  of  a  motshant-guildry,  with  guild-courts.  Coun- 
cil, members,  jurisdiction,  and  members  belonging  thereunto, 
within  our  said  royal  city,  and  the  bounds  and  liberties  thereof. 

And  by  the  tenor  of  these  presents,  We  give  and  grant  to  the 
said  Provost,  Bailifis,  Council,  and  Burgesses  of  our  said  city,  and 
their  successors,  the  sole  liberty  of  the  trade  and  merchandise  be- 
longing to  a  royal  free  burgh,  within  the  bounds  of  our  principal 
sh^iffwick  of  Edinburgh,  <»d)ed  West  Lothian ;  without  prejudice 
slways  to  us  and  our  successors,  to  erect  boroughs  royal,  and 
burghs  of  barony,  with  all  the  privileges  and  liberties  thereunto 
belonging,  within  any  part  of  our  said  principal  sheriffwick  of  Ed- 
inburgh, denominated  West  Lothian,  except  within  the  bounds  of 
our  said  city  of  Edinburgh,  villages  of  Leitli  and  Newhaveu,  ports, 
harbours,  mills,  moors,  and  others  united  to  our  said  city  of  Edin- 
burgh, and  erected  into  a  city  royal  as  aforesaid. 

And  We  likewise,  by  the  tenor  of  these  presents,  give,  grant, 
and  dispone  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailiffs,  Council,  and  commu- 
nity of  our  said  city,  and  their  successors,  the  liberty  and  pri^llege 
of  holding  t^eekly  markets  within  our  said  city  on  every  Monda}*, 
Wednesday,  and  Friday,  or  on  any  other  three  days  of  the  week, 
that  the  said  Provost,  Bailifis,  and  Council  of  our  said  city  shaU 
appoint  by  common  consent;  whereof  public  notice  shall  be  given 
(^  the  said  three  public  market  days:  Together  with  the  privilege 
and  liberty  of  two  free  yearly  fairs,  vi£.  that  of  All-hallows  and 
the  Trinity,  to' be  begun,  held,  and  continued  according  to  the 
usual  and  accustomed  manner:  Together  with  the  petty  and  other 
cuatcmia,  belonging  to  our  said  city,  of  which  they  and  their  pre- 
decessors have  been  long  in  possession;  with  the  customs  of  the 
said  £urs  and  markets;  and  especially  the  sheriff's  fees  and  sheriffs 
gloves,  tolls,  customs,  and  all  other  fees,  privileges,  liberties,  and 
duties  belonging  to  the  said  fairs  and  markets,  by  the  laws  and 
customs  of  our  said  kingdom  of  Scotland ;  with  full  power  and 
liberty  to  the  said  Provost,  Bailifis,  Council,  and  community,  and 
their  successors,  yearly  to  ride  and  view  the  marches  or  boundaries 

O 


210  HISTORT  OF  EDINBUBOH. 

.of  the  laoda  bdonging  to  their  said  dtj,  milla,  ports,  harbours,, 
and  places  appertaining  to  the  same*  acoording  to  ancient  use  and 
practice,  beyond  the  memory  of  man,  at  such  seasons  and  times  of 
theyear  as  they  shall  judge  most  convenient. 

We  also,  with  the  consent  aforesaid,  and  by  the  tenor  of  this 
our  present  charter,  give,  grant,  and  dispone  to  the  said  Provost, 
BaiUflb,  Council,  and  community,  and  their  successors,  the  afore- 
said  right,  title,  and  privilege  of  nominating  and  presenting  min- 
isters to  serve  the  cures  within  the  several  churches  of  our  said 
city,  to  remain  inseparably  annexed,  united,  and  incorporated  to 
our  said  city  in  all  times  coming. 

And  in  lUce  manner,  We,  with  the  advice  and  consent  aforesaid, 
and  by  the  tenor  of  this  our  present  charter,  give,  grant  and  dis- 
pone to  the  said  Provost,  Bailiff,  Council,  Burgesses,  and  commu- 
nity of  our  said  city,  and  their  successors  for  ever,  the  offices  of 
hereditary  sheriff  and  coroner  within  our  said  city  of  Edinburgh, 
and  within  the  bounds,  moors,  marshes,  lakes,  banks,  streets,  and 
passages  belonging  to  the  same;  and  within  the  said  ports  and 
harbours  of  Leith  and  Newhaven,  piers,  shores,  raids,  and  bul- 
warks of  the  same;  with  all  the  other  lands,  ways,  and  passages 
appertaining  thereunto,  annexed  to  our  said  dty,  within  the 
boundsiaforesaid,  and  erected  into  an  city  or  burgh  royal,  as  above 
specified.  And  also,  within  the  bounds  of  the  said  village  of  Leith, 
on  the  southern  side  of  the  river,  secluding  them  and  their  suc- 
cessors from  all  right  and  title  of  sheriff  and  coroner  within  any 
part  of  our  said  principal  sheriffwick  of  Edinburgh,  called  West 
Lothian,  except  within  the  bounds  annexed  to  our  aforesaid  city  of 
Edinburgh,  and  erected  into  a  free  burgh,  or  dty  royal  as  aforesaid ; 
and  the  village  of  Leith  on  the  southern  side  of  the  said  river. 

And  We  make  and  constitute  the  said  Provost  and  Bailiff  of 
our  said  city  of  Edinburgh,  and  their  successors,  justices  and  com- 
missioners of  our  peace,  within  our  said  city  of  Edinburgh,  ports 
of  Leith  and  Newhaven,  and  all  the  lands,  mills,  ports,  harbours, 
ways,  and  passages,  and  other  things  above  mentioned,  annexed 
to  our  said  city,  and  within  the  said  village  of  Leith  and  the 
southern  side  of  the  river  thereof.  We  likewise  make,  create,  and 
constitute  the  Provost  of  our  said  dty,  elected,  and  to  be  yearly 
chosen  for  ever,  prindpal  sheriff  and  coroner;  and  the  Bailiff  of 
our  said  dty,  elected,  and  to  be  chosen  yearly  as  aforesaid,  sheriff 
and  coroners  deputies  conjunctly  and  severally,  under  the  said 
Provost,  within  the  bounds  or  jurisdiction  aforesaid.  We  also 
make  and  constitute  the  said  Provost,  and  Bailifb,  both  present 
and  to  come,  conjunctly  and  severally,  justices  and  commissioners 
of  our  peace,  within  our  said  city  and  bounds  aforesaid;  with  this 
provision  always,  that  by  virtue  of  the  said  offices,  they  shall  not 
pretend  a  right  to  the  escheats  of  persons  condemned  to  die  for 
criminid  causes;  which  escheats.  We,  by  the  tenor  of  this  our  pre- 
sent charter,  reserve  to  us  and  our  successors. 


AKNALS.  211 

And  We,  for  us  and  our  successors,  wiU  and  declare,  that  & 
sasine,  once  to  be  taken,  by  virtue  of  this  our  present  chuler,  by 
the  said  Provost  and  Bail^  of  our  said  city,  or  any  of  them,  at 
the  market  cross  thereof,  shall  stand  and  be  a  sasine  to  them  and 
their  suooessors  for  the  said  city,  and  for  all  the  lands,  ports,  cus- 
toms, harbours,  offices  of  sheriff  and  coroner,  justices  of  the  peace, 
and  others  thereunto  annexed,  as  aforesaid,  notwithstanding  of 
their  disoontiguity;  wherefore  We,  for  us  and  our  successors,  by 
the  tenor  of  ^is  our  present  charter,  dispense  for  ever. 

We  likewise,  with  the  consent  aforesaid,  of  new  give,  grant  and 
dispone  to  the  aforesaid  Provost,  Bailiffs  and  conununity  of  our 
said  city  of  Edinburgh,  the  superiority  of  the  village  of  Lath,  with 
the  said  village  of  I«ith,  houses,  and  tenements  thereof,  the  Links 
of  Leith,  orchards,  gardens,  tenants,  tenancies  and  services  of  free 
tenants,  with  their  appurtenances:  And  We  erect  the  said  village 
of  Leith,  to  and  in  ntvour  of  the  said  Provost,  Bailiff,  OouneU 
and  ooDununity  of  our  said  city  of  Edinburgh,  and  their  successors, 
into  an  burg^  of  barony,  with  power  and  privilege  to  them  and 
their  successors,  to  elect  Bailifb  and  other  officers  within  the  said 
village,  and  to  make  laws  and  statutes  for  the  better  government 
thereof;  together  with  liberty,  power,  privilege,  and  jurisdiction 
of  malt-houses,  and  brew-houses,  with  all  other  rights  and  pri- 
vileges belonging  to  a  burgh  of  barony  in  all  times  coming.  To 
have  and  to  hold  all  our  aforesaid  city  of  Edinburgh,  ports,  and 
harbours  of  Leith  and  Newhaven,  and  others  aforesaid ;  with  the 
aud  ten  acres  of  High-rigs,  and  all  the  liberties,  privileges,  juris- 
dictions, offices,  and  others  aforesaid,  annexed  to  our  said  city,  by 
the  Provost,  Bailifis,  Council,  and  community  of  our  said  city  and 
their  suoceesors,  of  us  and  our  suocessors  in  free  heritage  and  free 
burgage  for  ever. 

And  also,  to  have  and  to  hold  all  the  aforesaid  right  and  title 
of  the  superiority  of  the  said  village  of  Leith  and  burgh  of  barony 
thereof,  with  aU  the  privileges,  liberties,  and  immunities  apper- 
taining thereunto,  of  us  and  our  successors,  in  free  heritage  and 
free  barony  for  ever,  by  all  the  rights,  meaths,  and  marches  thereof, 
of  old  divided,  and  as  they  lie  in  length  and  breadth,  in  houses, 
buildings,  heights,  and  plains,  moors,  marshes,  ways,  paths,  waters, 
stanks,  rivulets,  meadows,  pastures,  and  pasturage,  nulls,  multures, 
and  their  sequels;  hawkhigs,  huntings,  fishings,  peats,  turves, 
coals,  ooaleries,  coneys,  coney-warrens,  doves,  dove-houses,  smid- 
dies,  malt-houses,  brew-houses,  whins,  woods,  forests,  groves, 
shrubs,  and  twigs;  quarries,  stones,  and  lime;  courts  and  their 
issues,  herezdds,  bloodwits  and  womens  marchets,  with  turk,  toss, 
sac,  soke,  thole,  theam,  verr,  wreck,  waith,  wair,  venison,  infang- 
thief,  ontfangthief^  pit  and  gallows;  with  common  pasturage,  free 
egress  and  regress,  witli  all  other  liberties,  commodities,  profits, 
conveniences,  and  just  appurtenances  whatever,  as  well  not  named 
as  named,  as  well  under  as  above  the  ground,  afar  off,  or  near  to 


212  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH.    ' 

oar  aforesaid  city  of  Edinburgh,  with  other  things  thereunto 
united,  and  those  particnlarly  above  mentioned,  with  their  appor- 
tenanoes  belonging  to,  or  in  any  manner  of  way  may  be  known  to 
bebng  in  time  coming,  freely,  quietly,  fiiUy,  wholly,  honourably, 
well,  and  in  peace,  without  revocation,  ccmtradiction,  impediment, 
or  obstacle  whatsoever. 

The  said  Provost,  Baili£&,  Council,  and  community  of  oar  said 
city' of  Edinburgh,  and  their  successors,  paying  yearly  to  us  and 
our  successors,  for  our  said  city  of  Edinburgh,  ports  and  harbours 
of  Leith  and  Newhaven,  with  all  the  privileges,  liboties,  jurisdic- 
tions, offices,  and  others  annexed  to  our  said  city  as  above  spe- 
cified, the  sum  of  fifty*two  marks  sterling  money,  the  old  burgage 
rate  specified  in  the  enfeofiment  granted  to  our  said  town,  by 
King  Robert  Bruce,  at  the  terms  of  Whitsunday  and  Martinmas, 
in  equal  portions:  And  also,  for  the  administration  of  justice  in 
the  said  offices  of  sheriff,  coroner,  and  justices  of  the  peace,  the 
accustomed  burgh  service,  of  the  said  ten  acres  of  land  of  the 
High-rigs,  and  the  aforesaid  nomination  and  presentation  of  min- 
isters to  serve  the  cures,  within  the  several  churches,  built,  or  to 
be  built  within  our  said  city,  (and  in  places)  united  and  annexed 
thereunto  as  aforesaid,  the  sum  of  two  pennies,  in  the  name  of 
blanchfarm,  if  it  be  demanded.  And  likewise  to  pay  to  us  and 
our  successors,  for  the  said  superiority  of  Leith,  and  buigfa  of 
barony  thereunto  belonging,  yearly  upon  the  ground  of  the  said 
village  of  Leith,  in  the  name  of  blanchfarm,  the  sum  of  one 
penny,  of  the  money  aforesaid,  if  it  be  asked;  providing  always, 
as  by  the  tenor  of  this  our  present  charter,  it  is  expressly  declarod 
and  provided,  that  all  the  reservations  and  exceptions  from  the 
ratification  aforesaid,  contained  in  this  our  present  charter,  shall 
be  held  as  repeated,  reserved  and  excepted  from  the  new  gift  and 
enfeoffinent  just  above  written. 

It  is  likewise  hereby  declared,  that  our  present  new  gift  and 
enfeofiment  following  thereon,  nor  any  of  the  heads  or  articles 
contained  in  this  our  present  charter,  shall  no  ways  comprehend 
or  be  extended  to  any  right  of  regality,  nor  shall  be  farther  ex- 
tended than  the  hereditary  offices  of  sheriff,  coroner,  and  juris- 
diction thereof,  and  holding  guild  courts;  but  only  to  the  bounds 
of  our  said  city,  common  mills,  common  moor,  common  marsh  or 
myre,  lakes,  woods,  and  ditches  of  the  same;  and  within  the  vil- 
lages of  Leith  and  Newhaven,  ports,  harbours,  forts,  shores,  piers, 
raids,  and  Links,  both  eastern  and  western ;  limds  called  the  Com- 
mon Closets,  Burse,  holf,  halls,  and  other  lands  properly  belonging 
to  our  said  city,  wavs,  paths,  streets,  lanes  or  passages  leading  to 
and  from  the  said  city,  and  to  and  from  the  villages  of  Leith  and 
Newhaven;  and  the  streets,  ways,  and  passages  leading  through 
or  by  their  common  moor  and  myre,  which  are  built  and  repaired 
by  them  as  far  as  the  said  moor  and  marsh  may  extend;  and  their 
ways  and  streets  leading  to  and  from  their  common  mills  on  the 


ANNALa  213 

river  Leitk,  is  &r  ts  the  said  mOls,  mill'lands,  and  brooks  belong- 
ing to- them  do  extend. 

And  that  this  our  present  charter  shall  be  no  ways  prejndidal 
to  OS  or  onr  snooessors,  in  our  right  or  royal  prerogative,  to  erect 
burghs  royal,  and  burghs  of  barony,  in  any  other  part  of  West 
Lothimn,  without  the  bounds  of  the  said  sheriflfwick  and  coronary 
to  which  the  same  are  restricted  in  manner  as  aforesaid;  with  thn 
declaration  always,  that  the  restriction  of  the  said  ofRces  of  sheriff, 
and  coroner,  and  others  aforesaid,  to  the  bounds  above  specified, 
shall  infer  no  prejudice  to  our  said  city  of  Edinburgh,  or  to  the 
inhabitants  thereof^  touching  the  privilege  and  liberty  of  the  sole 
trade  of  merchandise  within  the  bounds  of  West  Lothian,  belong- 
ing to  them  as  Burgesses  of  a  free  and  royal  city. 

And  it  is  in  like  manner  by  this  our  present  charter  declared, 
that  by  virtue  of  our  said  charter,  our  aforesaid  town  and  dty, 
and  their  successors,  shall  no  ways  have,  or  pretend  to  have  a 
right  to  the  escheats  of  criminals  condemned  to  die  before  them, 
nor  to  the  escheats  of  any  of  the  inhabitants  within  the  bounds  of 
their  said  sherifFwick  and  coronary,  restricted  as  aforesaid,  already 
denounced,  or  who  shall  hereafter  happen  to  be  denounced,  or 
put  to  the  horn,  either  for  civil  or  criminal  causes,  which  are  re- 
nounced in  our  favours,  as  aforesaid,  which  we  reserve  to  us  and 
our  successors  for  ever;  notwithstanding  of  this  our  present  char- 
ter, or  other  former  rights  or  enfeofiments  granted  to  our  said 
town  of  Edinburgh,  and  their  predecessors;  without  prejudice 
always  to  our  well*beloved  cousin,  James  Duke  of  Lennox,  Lord 
High  Admiral  and  Chamberlain  of  our  kingdom  of  Scotland,  his 
heirs  and  successors,  in  right  of  the  said  offices,  of  any  right,  title 
or  claim,  which  he  may  have  to  any  of  the  liberties,  privileges, 
jurisdictions,  commodities,  or  other  things  whatsoever,  contained 
in  this  our  present  charter,  granted  to  our  said  city  of  Edinburgh, 
or  their  predecessors,  or  ratified  by  us  in  their  favour,  according 
to  law ;  and  that  the  said  admiral  and  chamberlain,  and  his  heirs 
and  successors  aforesaid,  and  our  said  city  of  Edinburgh,  and  their 
successors,  shaU  be  and  remain  in  the  same  state  and  condition  as 
to  all  the  rights  and  privileges  touching  the  said  offices,  as  they 
were  in  before  the  day  of  the  date  of  this  our  present  charter,  as 
if  it  had  never  been  granted. 

In  testimony  whereof,  We  have  to  this  our  present  charter  of 
confirmation,  caused  our  great  seal  to  be  put,  in  presence  of  the 
following  witnesses,  vi£.  the  most  Beverend  Father  in  Christ,  our 
wdl-beloved  counsellor,  John,  by  the  mercy  of  Grod,  Archbishop 
of  St.  Andrew's,  primate  and  metropolitan,  and  chancellor  of  our 
said  kingdom  of  Scotland;  our  weU-beloved  cousins  and  coun- 
seUors,  James  Marquis  of  Hamilton,  Earl  of  Arran  and  Cam- 
bridge, Lord  Aven  and  Innerdale;  Thomas  Earl  of  Haddington, 
Lord  Binnie  and  Byres,  keeper  of  our  privy  seal;  William  Earl 
of  Stirling,  Viscount  Cannada;  Lord  Alexander  of  Tillibody,  our 


214  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

secretary;  and  oar  beloved  familiar  oounsellorsy  Sir  John  Hay  of 
Baro,  derk  to  our  Council,  reg^ter  and  roils;  John  Hamilton  of 
Orbiaton,  our  justice-clerk ;  and  John  Scot  of  Sootstanrat,  director 
of  our  chancery,  knight.  Given  at  Newmarket  the  twenty-third 
day  of  the  month  of  October,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thou- 
sand six  hundred  and  thirty-six,  and  of  our  reign  the  twelfth 
year." 

n. 

EDINBUKGH  COURANT. 

The  followini;  is  a  verbatim  copy  of  the  first  number  of  the 
Edinburgh  C^urant,  referred  to  at  page  146^  and  published 
in  1705.  It  is  a  curiosity^ — anumber  of  the  London  Times 
newspaper  at  the  present  day,  probably  contains  three  hun- 
dred times  the  amount  of  typography: 

^  ^t  SSfitiittrgI  Cottrant 

Published  by  Authority. 
From  Wednesday  14  to  Monday  19  Feb.  1705. 


From  the  Paris  Gazette^  dated  Feb.  14. 

liiadrid,  Jannary  30. 

Thx  letters  from  the  camp  before  Gibraltar,  contain  the  follow* 
ing  news.  The  19th  of  this  month  the  besi^ed  began  to  fire 
with  three  pieces  of  cannon  from  their  new  battery,  raised  on 
purpose  to  mine  the  works  of  the  besiegers;  that  day  and  the 
following  night  2  of  our  men  were  killed,  and  18  wounded:  But 
the  besiegers  have  begun  to  fire  against  that  battery  with  good 
success.  The  20th  the  works  were  carried  on  with  as  much  dili- 
gence as  the  rigour  of  the  season,  and  the  continual  firing  from 
the  place,  would  permit.  The  same  day  one  English  and  4  Dutch 
ships  came  into  the  bay,  and  entring  the  old  Mole,  landed  anunu- 
nition  and  provisions.  The  21st  these  5  ships  put  to  sea  again, 
after  having  made  a  stockade  for  securing  the  vessels  that  are  in 
the  Mole:  We  are  informed,  part  of  the  provisions  they  brought, 
is  stock-fish.  The  22d  the  works  were  continued;  and  that  day 
the  first  detachment  of  French  grenadiers  arrived  in  the  camp,  as 
other  troops  have  done  .since,  under  the  command  of  the  Marquis 
de  Thoy.  The  25th,  400  men  arrived  from  Cadiz,  with  several 
waggons  laden  with  powder  and  bullets.  The  Marshal  de  Tesse 
is  set  out  from  hence,  to  go  to  the  camp,  and  'tis  hoped,  that  after 
his  arrival,  new  efforts  will  be  made.     The  troops,  notwithstand- 


AKKALS.  215 

mg  the  fitigaes  and  lengdi  of  the  tiegey  oontinQe  to  do  their  dotjr 
with  gre&t  oonrage. 

From  the  Amsterdam  GazetU^  dated  Feb.  20. 

Maataa,  Feb.  4.  The  Slrt  of  htf  t  month,  the  grand  prior  of 
France  mardi'd  on  a  sadden,  with  a  strong  detachment  and  4 
pieces  of  cannon,  with  design  to  intercept  some  troops  and  suc- 
cours that  were  coming  to  the  imperialists;  and  to  day  we  re- 
ceived advice  by  an  express,  That  b^ng  advanced  as  far  as  Bivoli, 
he  met,  near  Bordolera;  and  attack'd  a  body  of  euemies,  of  about 
1400  horse  and  2000  foot,  whom  he  forced  to  retire  towards 
Cravora,  after  &  sharp  action,  in  which  300  of  the  Oermans  were 
killed,  and  200  taken  prisoners,  among  whom  18  officers.  The 
Grand-prior  has  dispiiched  2  expresses  to  carry  this  news  to 
Paris,  and  to  ihe  Duke  of  Yendom  hb  brother,  in  the  camp  be- 
fore Verue. 

From  the  Amsterdam  Gazette^  dated  Feb.  17. 

From  the  camp  at  Orescentino,  January  28th.  The  French  are 
no  forwarder  in  the  siege  of  Verue,  than  th^  were  a  month  ago, 
(for  in  so  long  time  they  have  not  gain'd  a  foot  of  ground)  both 
because  of  the  badness  of  the  weather,  and  becanse  of  the  vigorous 
defence  made  by  the  garison.  The  night  between  the  27  and 
28,  a  small  detachment  of  the  garison  st^lied  out  of  Yerue,  and  at 
first  on-set  drove  the  enemy  from  some  of  their  posts,  but  not  be- 
ing supported  in  ^e,  they  were  obliged  to  retire.  His  Boyal 
Highness  has  given  orders  for  8000  men  of  the  militia  to  be  rais'd ; 
th^  will  draw  together  in  eight  days.  There  is  a  line  of  cavalry 
from  Cresdntino  to  Turin;  which  cavslry  is  commanded  by 
General  Felts;  the  rest  are  quartered  between  Queris  and  Carig- 
nan.  5000  men  are  disposed  in  other  posts,  and  have  good  gari- 
sons  behind  them.  We  have  made  redoubts  for  securing  the 
passages  of  the  river 

From  the  Amsterdam  Courant,  dated  Febniax7-22d. 

Paris,  Feb.  16.  Letters  from  the  camp  of  the  Duke  of  Yen- 
dome  of  the  4th  of  this  month  advise,  that  the  Grand-prior  of 
France  having  attack'd  near  Bivoli,  3  imperial  battalions  and  600 
horse,  defeat^  them,  killing  a  great  number  of  them ;  and  Mon- 
sieur de  Maurice,  captain  of  carabiners  and  aid  de  camp  to  the 
Grand-prior,  is  come  hither  with  6  colours  taken  in  that  action : 
400  men  under  Lieutenant  colonel  Dillion  are  to  be  posted  in 
BivolL  On  the  other  side  we  have  news,  That  a  detachment  of 
500  of  our  men  commanded  by  Monsieur  de  Lautree,  meeting 
with  a  strong  detachment  of  imperialists,  was  defeated,  and  a  great 
number  being  slain,  and  Monsieur  de  Lautree  himself  dangerously 


216  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

wounded.  The  last  letters  from  Yenie  are  of  the  6th  of  this 
month,  they  advise,  that  the  siege  of  Yerue  is  carried  on  with  all 
possible  diligence;  That  our  artiUery  was  playing  to  make 
breaches  in  the  third  wall;  but  the  1st  and  2d  instant  a  snow  of 
three  foot  deep  fell  there;  and  that  the  Duke  of  Yendome  waits 
to  be  joined  with  14  pieces  of  cannon,  and  Id  companies  of  gra- 
nadiers,  led  by  Monsieur  Yaubeoourt  from  the  vtHey  of  Aoste. 

From  the  London  toritten  Letterj  dated  Febroary  13th. 

The  letters  from  Yienna  of  the  7th  bring,  that  a  body  of  16000 
malcontents  having  by  means  of  the  ice,  past  the  Danube  on  the 
3d  and  4th  at  night,  advanced  on  a  sudden  within  two  leagues  of 
Yienna,  sacking  and  burning  23  villages  as  they  past,  and  killing 
a  great  many  of  the  inhabitants,  which  put  them  in  a  great  con« 
sternation  in  the  aforesaid  city ;  but  they  retired  towards  New- 
stadt,  upon  advice,  that  General  Heister  had  past  the  Danube 
with  3  or  4000  men  and  some  cannon. 

Letters  from  Turin  of  the  28th  past  say,  that  the  enemies  can- 
non before  Yerue  have  play'd  very  little  for  8  days  past,  during 
which  time,  the  besieged  repaired  the  breaches. 

And  there  is  advice  by  the  way  of  Switzerland,  that  the  place 
defends  itself  gallantly  on  the  31st  and  that  the  besiegers  had  still 
3  weeks  work  before  it  will  be  possible  for  them  to  gain  the  place. 

Paris  letters  of  the  16th  relate,  that  an  aid-de-camp  from  the 
Grand-prior  was  arrived  at  court  express  with  advice,  That  that 
^neral  had  attacked  3  imperial  battalions  and  600  horse  near 
Bivoli,  and  had  defeated  them,  having  killed  600  on  the  spot,  and 
taken  400  prisoners  with  18  officers.  This  gentleman  brought 
with  him  2  standards  and  6  colours.  But  in  another  place  a  party 
of  500  French  have  been  defeated. 

These  letters  add,  that  an  express  is  arrived  from  Madrid,  with 
an  account,  that  2000  Prench  grenadiers  being  arrived  in  the 
camp  before  Gibraltar,  they  attacked  sword  in  hand,  that  part  of 
the  rock  which  overlooked  the  covered  way,  and  made  themselves 
masters  of  it;  so  that  they  pretend  that  place  cannot  hold  out 
many  days. 

London,  February  13.  Our  port  letters  say,  That  the  Crown 
and  Worcester  frigots  have  lately  taken  15  French  coasters.  Ad- 
miral Dilks  is  detained  still  by  contrary  winds  at  Spithead. 

Edinbttroh,  Feb.  19. 

On  Saturday  last,  Captain  Green,  captain  of  the  ship  Worches- 
ter,  and  the  rest  of  his  crew  who  are  prisoners  here,  and  are  to  be 
try'd  as  pirates,  before  the  judge-admiral,  has  each  of  them  got  a 
copy  of  their  inditement  to  answer  against  the  5th  of  March  next; 
and  the  lords  of  her  Majesty's  privy  council  has  appointed  five  of 
their  number  to  be  assessors  to  the  judge-admiral. 


AKNALB.  217 

This  day  fiobert  Pringle  one  of  the  tellers  of  the  bank,  who 
lately  went  off  with  about  425  lib.  sterling  of  the  bank's  money, 
is  to  be  try'd  for  life  before  the  lords  of  justiciary,  upon  a  lybel 
rais'd  at  the  instance  of  the  treasurer  of  the  bank,  and  the  said 
Pringle's  oantioners,  with  concourse  of  her  Majesty's  advocat. 

Lath,  Feb.  16.  This  day  came  in  to  our  port  the  Mary  Ghiley, 
David  Preshu  commander,  laden  with  wine  and  brandv. 

Advertisements. 

That  the  lands  of  Pimtatoun,  lying  within  the  regality  of  Stow, 
and  sheriffdom  of  Mid  Lothian,  are  to  be  exposed  to  a  voluntar 
roup  and  sale,  in  the  house  of  James  Gibson  writer,  living  in  the 
Advocat's  Gloss,  opposite  to  the  Old-Kirk-Style,*  on  Thursday  the 
12th  day  of  April  next  1705,  betwixt  the  hours  of  2  and  5  in  the 
afternoon;  whoever  has  a  mind  to  bid  for  the  same,  may  see  an 
exact  and  complete  progress  of  the  writs  of  the  saids  lands,  in  the 
hands  of  TVlUiam  Wilson  one  of  the  under  clerks  to  the  session. 

That  there  are  Post-OfSoes  settled  at  Wigtoun  and  Kew  Gallo- 
way: Therefore  all  Letters  and  Pacquets  must  be  given  in  at 
Wigtoun  every  Wednesday  morning,  and  at  New  Galloway  every 
W^nesday  night,  and  at  Edinburgh  every  Saturday;  the  same 
to  commence  March  Ist  1705. 

That  the  famous  Loozengees  for  curing  the  cold,  stopping  and 
pains  in  the  breast,  the  kinkhost;  Are  to  be  sold  by  George  An- 
derson at  the  foot  of  the  Fish  Mercat,  and  at  George  Mowbray*s 
shop,  opposit  to  the  Main-Guard.     Price  8  sh.  the  box. 

Ths  Author  hereof  having  upon  the  Id  instant,  got  an  act  of  Her 
Majesty's  most  honourable  Privy  Council,  to  print  and  publish 
the  Foreign  and  Home  News  thrise  weekly,  viz.  Monday,  Wed- 
nesday and  Friday;  the  same  will  be  continued  from  this  day  for- 
ward. 

NOTA,  Advertisements  may  be  put  in  this  Ckmrant,  and  for 
that  end,  attendance  will  be  given  from  ten  a  clock  in  the  forenoon 
till  twelve,  and  from  two  in  the  afternoon  till  four,  at  the  Ex- 
change coffee-house  in  Edinburgh. 

EDINBUBGH,  Printed  by  Jaicbs  Watsok  in  Craig^s  Close,  and 
sold  at  the  Exchange  coffee-house,  1705." 

*  This  Old-Kirk  Style  was  a  passage  opposite  the  Adyocate'i  Close, 
which  led  tlmmgh  the  Lackenbooths  to  St  Giles'  cbarch.  Donbar  a]- 
hides  to  it  in  his  satirical  poem  "  to  the  Merchants  of  Edinbargh,"  where 
he  says: 

"  And  merchtsds  at  the  stinkand  strll 
Are  hampert  in  ane  hony  came.*' 


218  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

ni. 

THE  DECREET-ARBITRAL  OF  LORD  ILAT. 

The  foQowing  is  the  Decreet-arbitral  pronounced  hj  Archi- 
bald Earl  of  usLjf  afterwards  Dnke  of  Argyle,  refisrred  to  at 
page  161.  Along  with  Eang  James  YI/s  Decreet-arbitral 
of  ISSSy  which  we  have  fiiren. among  the  Historical  Docn* 
ments  appended  to  the  ^st  part,  it  formed  the  municipal 
set  of  the  citj  from  1730  to  1833,  regulating  the  civic  elec- 
tions during  that  century: 

**  Whereas  by  two  several  submissions,  dated  and  signed  at  Ed- 
inburgh, the  iSth  and  14th  days  of  March  1729  years,  by  the 
Magistrates  and  Merchant-Council,  and  Deacons  of  Crafts,  and 
Trades  Counsellors  of  the  said  Burgh,  on  the  one  and  other  parts, 
and  in  the  behalf,  and  pursuant  to  the  powers  therein  mentioned, 
several  questions  and  differences  between  the  said  incorporations, 
and  the  said  Magistrates  and  Merchant-Council,  touching  the 
matters  therein  set  forth,  were  submitted  to  me  as  sole  Arbiter, 
chosen  and  elected  by  both  parties,  and  particularly,  certain  pro- 
cesses at  their  instance  against  others,  depending  before  the  Lords 
of  Council  and  Session;  and  I  having  maturely  considered  the 
said  mutual  processes,  with  the  minutes  and  claims,  and  answers, 
with  the  vouchers  given  in  by  them  hine  tnds,  and  heard  parties 
procurators  in  my  own  presence  tiva  voee^  and  having  weighed 
the  arguments  on  each  side,  and  perused  the  precedents  laid  b^ore 
me  jointly  by  both  parties;  I  give  forth  my  final  Sentence  and 
Deoreet-arbitral,  in  manner  and  to  the  effect  following:  THAT 
IS  TO  SAT,  FINDS,  DECERNS  and  DECLARES,  That  no 
person  who  has  deserted  and  given  over  the  practice  and  exercise 
of  his  trade  and  occupation  within  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  and  li- 
berties thereof,  unless  he  reside  within  the  said  town  or  liberties, 
and  at  the  same  time  subject  himself  to  the  coDunon  burdens  of 
the  Town  and  Incorporation  whereof  he  is  free,  or  who  \a  received 
as  a  member  or  servant  in  any  of  the  Town's  hospitals,  or  who  is 
a  pensioner  of  the  Town  or  Trade,  or  has  or  enjoys  any  benefit  or 
lucrative  office  from  the  Town  or  Trade,  or  who,  at  any  time 
within  six  months  preceding,  has  been  received,  or  was  member, 
servant,  or  pensioner  as  aforesaid,  or  held  or  enjoyed  such  benefice 
or  lucrative  office^  hath,  or  ought  to  have  any  vote  in  the  election 
of  a  Deacon,  or  other  officer  of  the  Incorporation,  or  in  making 
up  leets,  in  order  to  the  election  of  a  Deacon  or  other  officer,  or 
to  act  or  vote  in  any  meeting  whatsoever  of  any  Incorporation 
within  the  said  City.  And  further,  FINDS,  DECERNS  and 
ORD AJ^S,  That  the  usage  and  custom  of  presenting  leets  of  six 
persons  made  by  the  several  Incorporations,  and  attested  by  their 


ANNALB.  219 

respective  Clerks,  to  the  Magistrates  and  CkwneQ,  in  order  to  their 
maidng  short  leets  of  three  for  election  of  Deacons,  be  inviolably 
for  ever  observed,  and  that  the  short  leets  be  returned  by  them 
out  of  the  said  leets  of  six,  regularly  and  legally  made  and  at- 
tested: But  FINDS,  DECEBNS,  and  DECLAEES,  That  the 
Council,  to  whom  the  new  Deacons  are  to  be  presented,  and  by 
whom  they  are  by  the  Sett  to  be  anthoriMd  in  their  offices,  are, 
by  the  nature  of  the  thing,  and  the  precedents,  and  consiftently 
with  the  Sett,  Judges  in  the  first  instance,  of  questions  that  may 
be  stirred  concerning  the  right  of  persons  claimmg  to  be  admitted 
into  the  office  of  Deacon ;  subject  nevertheless  to  complaint,  and 
the  review  of  the  proper  Court,  as  accords  of  the  law:  And 
FINDS,  DECEBNS,  and  DECLAEES,  That  the  Provost  has 
right  to  the  first  vote  in  every  matter  and  thing,  and  to  a  casting  vote, 
in  case  of  an  equality,  and  to  no  other  or  further  vote  in  any  case 
whatsoever:  And  also  FINDS,  DECEBNS,  and  DEOLABES, 
That  according  to  the  Sett  of  the  Town,  there  must  be  three  per- 
sons in  every  leet  for  the  several  offices  of  Provost,  Dean  of  Gild, 
and  Treasurer,  and  twelve  persons  in  the  leet  for  Baillies:  But  it 
is  not  determined  by  the  Sett,  whether  the  said  leets  should  con- 
tain one  and  twenty  difierent  persons;  and  the  usage  appears  to 
be  in  the  contrary,  which  theiWore  ought  to  prevul.  And  fur- 
ther FINDS,  DECEBNS,  and  DECLAEES,  That  the  Deacons 
extraordinary,  or  not  of  the  Council,  have  a  vote  in  chusing 
proxies  for  ihe  absent  members  of  the  Ordinary  Council  at  the 
annual  election,  in  all  steps  where  they  have  a  right  to  be  present: 
And  also  FINDS,  DECEBNS,  and  DECLABES,  That  the  right 
of  calling  the  Council,  Ordinary  and  Extraordixiary,  belongs  to 
the  Provost  or  Preses  of  the  meeting;  and,  upon  an  execution 
returned,  of  the  members  being  summoned  by  the  said  Provost  or 
Preses  his  order,  thirteen  of  the  Ordinary,  and  seventeen  of  the 
Extraordinary  Council,  may  proceed  and  act  in  the  same  manner, 
as  if  all  the  members  were  present:  But  if  the  Provost  or  Preses 
shall  happen  to^neglect,  or  shall  refuse  to  call  a  Council  on  Wed- 
nesday, the  ordinary  Council-day,  a  minority  of  the  said  Council 
may,  forty-dght  hours  preceding  the  ordinary  and  stated  time  of 
meeting,  require  the  aforesaid  Provost  or  Preses,  under  form  of 
instrument,  to  call  a  Council,  and,  upon  his  refunl  or  n^lect  to 
comply  with  the  demand  so  made,  the  minority  of  the  said  Council 
may  meet  on  the  said  usual  and  stated  time,  and  proceed  to  do 
business:  And  FINDS,  DECEBNS,  and  DECLABES,  That  the 
Council,  Ordinary  and  Extraordinary,  have  the  sole  power  and 
right  of  governing  the  Trinity  Hospital,  and  cannot  delegate  the 
same  to  any  other  person  or  persons  whatsoever:  And  DECEBNS 
and  OBDAINS  the  accompts  of  the  Town  to  be  fitted  and  audited 
within  a  year  to  which  the  said  accompts  relate,  or  within  three 
months  after  the  expiration  of  the  said  year;  and  that  no  article  of 
depursement  of  the  Town's  money  ought  to  be  allowed,  unless  the 


220  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

same  be  sufficiently  vouched:  And  FINDS  and  DECEBNS,  That 
the  expenoe  of  ail  public  treats  ought  to  be  previously  authorized 
by  the  Council,  and  attested,  when  laid  out,  by  two  of  the  Council, 
or  more,  who  are  hereby  ordained  to  write,  or  cause  to  be  written 
on  the  bills,  the  date  and  occasion  of  the  ezpence,  and  the  person's 
name  to  whom  the  same  was  paid  or  b  due,  and  to  sign  the  said 
bills  and  report,  and  produce  them  in  CouncQ  within  a  month  at 
farthest  after  the  said  expence  is  incurred.  And  llirther  FINDS, 
DECEBNS,  and  DECLARES,  That  the  said  Extraordinary 
Deacons  of  Crafts  have  right  to  give  their  special  vote  and  con- 
sultation, annually  in  electing  and  chuaing  the  members  of  the 
Dean  of  Guild  Court  of  Edinburgh;  but  that  they  have  no  vote  in 
the  election  of  the  officers  of  the  Train-bands,  the  Constables,  and 
BaiUies  of  the  public  markets  of  the  city,  and  their  assistants. 
Kirk  and  College  Treasurers,  Stent-masters,  and  Auditors  of  the 
Town's  accompts;  nor  in  electing  and  chusing  the  Baron  Baillies 
of  the  suburbs,  namely,  the  Baillies  of  Leith,  Canongate,  Ports- 
burgh,  and  Caltoun,  the  Magistrates  and  Ordinary  Council  having 
the  only  right  of  chuaing  the  said  officers.  But  FINDS,  DE- 
CEBNS, and  DECLAEtES,  That  the  said  Extraordinary  Deacons 
have  a  right,  and  ought  to  be  adjoined  with  the  Ordinary  Coun- 
cil, at  least  ought  to  be  l^;aily  called  for  that  end,  when  they  are 
to  proceed  to  the  election  of  Provost,  Baillies,  Dean  of  Guild,  or 
Treasurer,  or  to  set  feus  or-any  manner  of  tacks,  attour  the  yearly 
rouping  on  Martinmas  Even;  or  to  give  benefices,  and  other  offices 
within  the  Burgh;  or  to  grant  extents,  contributions,  empriments, 
and  concerning  public  buildings,  or  to  dispose  of  the  common 
good,  above  the  sum  of  twenty  pounds  Scots  together.  And 
further,  FINDS  the  said  Extraordinary  Deacons  have  right  to 
vote  in  chusing  Committees  for  deliberating  upon,  and  preparing 
all  or  any  of  the  said  matters,  and  are  also  capable  of  being  mem- 
bers of  the  said  Committees.  And  as  to  the  article  of  Commis- 
sioners for  and  from  the  Burgh,  which  includes  a  case  relating  to 
the  privilege  of  Parliament,  the  same  is  hereby  to  receive  no  de- 
termination, of  consent  and  at  the  desire  of  both  parties.  And 
also,  DECEBNS  and  ORDAINS  the  minutes  of  Council  to  be 
read  and  signed  in  open  Council,  the  next  Council-day  imme- 
diately after  they  shall  have  received  a  second  reading.  And 
touching  the  office  of  Convener,  and  the  meetings  of  Deacons  and 
Craftsmen  among  themselves,  FINDS  the  office  of  Convener  has 
the  authority  of  too  long  usage,  and  has  been  too  much  admitted 
by  the  Magistrates  and  Council,  to  be  at  this  time  called  in  ques- 
tion, and  that  the  meeting  of  the  Deacons  has  been  also  long 
practised;  but  that,  by  the  Sett  of  the  Town,  neither  the  Mer- 
chants among  themselves,  nor  the  Crafts  and  their  Deacons  or 
visitors,  can  have,  or  make  any  particular  or  general  conventions, 
as  Deacons  with  Deacons,  Deacons  with  their  Crafts,  or  Crafts 
among  themselves,  without  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Provost 


AKKALS.  221 


and  Council,  excepting  the  cues  in  the  nid  Sett  particokriy 
excepted;  and  that  the  meeting  said  to  be  frequently  held  the 
first  Tueiday  after  Michaelmais  in  the  manner,  and  with  the  dr- 
cumstances  the  same  is  particularly  set  forth  in  the  Declarator  of 
the  Merchants,  can  in  noways  be  contained  in  the  said  exceptions. 
And  FINDS,  DECEKN6,  and  DECLABE6,  That  by-laws,  made 
by  the  Incorporations  for  themselves,  are  of  no  force,  unless  they 
are  ratified  by  the  Magistrates  and  Council  But  FINDS,  That 
the  said  Magistrates  and  Council  have  no  power  to  make  by-laws, 
whereby  the  said  Incorporations  and  their  successors  can  be  bound 
to  admit  all  such  persons  as  shall  request  the  same,  and  shaU  ap- 
pear to  the  Magistrates  and  Council  to  be  well  skilled  and  qualified 
to  occupy  and  practise  in  their  Crafts,  upon  payment  of  such 
valuable  consideration  as  should  be  rated  and  determined  by  the 
eaid  Magistrates  and  Council.  And  likewise  FINDS,  that  they 
have  no  power  to  controul  the  management  Of  the  several  stocks 
belonging  to  the  said  Incorporations,  or  to  make  by-laws  concern- 
ing the  same.  And  this  I  give  forth  as  my  final  sentence  and 
Decreet-arbitral  betwixt  the  said  parties;  and  DECERNS  and 
OBDAINS  them  to  abide  by,  and  fulfil  the  same,  each  to  other, 
in  all  time  coming.  In  witness  whereof,  I  have  subscribed  these 
preeents,  written  on  this  and  the  preceding  page,  by  Henry  Pu- 
jolas  my  servant,  at  London,  the  twelfth  day  of  March  1729-30, 
before  these  witnesses,  Richard  Lancashire,  and  the  above  said 
Henry  Fujolas,  my  servants. 

ILAY. 

Richard  Lamcashi&b,  witness. 

HsN.  PuJOLAfi,  witness. 


ANNALS. 


PARTffl. 

FBOM  THE  ACCESSION  OF  OEOBGE  lU.  TO  THE  CLOSE 

OF  HIS  KBIGK,  18S0. 


HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 


•MMMMMlMMfMMWMMmnntHMMIMMMHM 


PAET  m. 


The  demise  of  the  second  Boverei^  of  the  House  of  Han- 
over^ the  second  Gbobge,  affords  an  adequate  opportunity 
to  take  a  short  retrospect  of  the  history  of  the  capital  of 
Scotland. 

For  the  long  period  of  eleven  centuries,  that  is,  from  the 
seventh  till  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Edin- 
BUBQH  continued  a  compact  and  ancient  city,  occupying 
little  more  ground  than  the  elevated  and  gradually  sloping 
ridge  from  the  lofty  Castle  to  the  palace  of  Holyrood,  on 
which  was  built  the  main  street,  Market  Street  or  High 
Street  as  it  is  called  in  modem  times,  with  its  subdivision  of 
names,  Castle  Hill,  Luckenbooths,  Ej*ames,  Higli  Street, 
Netherbow,  Canongate,  and  Holyrood.  From  this  street, 
probably  one  of  the  most  picturesque  in  Europe,  descended 
on  the  northern  and  southern  sides  a  series  of  wynds  and 
closes,  some  of  them  entirely  open  and  others  mere  cuU  de 
sac.  To  the  north,  lay  open  and  verdant  fields,  bounded  by 
the  Firth  of  Forth;  to  the  south  the  spacious  gardens  of  the 
monastery  of  Black  friars  and  Grey  friars.  We  have  seen 
that  at  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  the  city  was  first 
fortified.  Some  thirty  years  after  that,  sprung  up  the  sin- 
gular addition  of  the  Cowgate  as  a  fashionable  suburb,  be- 
vond  the  ancient  wall,  which  after  the  battle  of  Floddeu  was 


226  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

also  included  within  the  citj,  along  with  the  suburb  of  the 
Grassmarket,  by  means  of  an  extended  wall  to  protect  the 
inhabitants  from  the  danger  of  any  subsequent  invasion. 

From  the  earliest  periods  of  Scottish  history  this  ancient 
city  was  the  scene  of  domestic  feuds  and  commotions  among 
its  own  people — contests  between  the  sovereigns  and  the 
barons,  in  which  the  citizens  occasionally  embraced  a  side- 
forays  and  invasions  from  their  neighbours  the  English — 
then  civil  and  domestic  wars  arising  from  religious  conten- 
tions, which  xmfortunately  did  not  cease  even  with  the 
union  of  the  two  craums  of  England  and  Scotland.  The 
revolution  of  1688,  followed  by  the  union  of  the  two  Kti^ 
doms  and  the  succession  of  the  House  of  Hanover,  brought 
about  a  more  quiet  period  of  its  history;  till  the  final  con* 
test  between  the  female  protestant  line  of  the  House  of 
Stuart  and  the  male  or  Jacobite  branch  was  settled  in 
1746,  when  the  affairs  of  Scotland  were  merged  in  those 
of  Britain. 

From  that  epoch  the  history  of  Edinburgh  bears  a  new 
aspect,  and  the  reign  of  Greorge  HI.  may  be  said  to  be- 
gin its  Augustan  age,  alike  in  regard  to  its  buildings  and  in 
its  literary  character,  in  both  of  which  respects  it  has  not 
inappropriately  been  dignified  with  the  name  of  the  Mo- 
dem Athens. 

As  already  narrated,  George  H.  died  suddenly,  25th  Oc- 
tober, 1760,  and  three  days  after,  a  gentleman  came  to  Ed- 
inburgh, bringing  intelligence  of  the  death  of  the  sovereign; 
the  same  evening  a  king^s  messenger  arrived  with  the  order 
of  the  privy  council,  and  copies  of  the  order  for  proclaiming 
the  new  sovereign.  These  were  addressed  to  the  Lord 
Advocate,  who  immediately  sent  notice  of  the  event  to  the 
Lord  Provost,  Lind.  Lord  George  Beauclerk,  the  Com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  forces  in  Scotland,  ordered  a  detach- 
ment of  the  light  dragoons  into  the  city,  and  they  patrolled 
tlie  streets  through  the  night,  two  and  two  abreast  with 
drawn  swords,  though  all  was  quiet  and  peaceable.    Next 


176a  ANNALS.  227 

monung  the  Castle  flag  was  hoisted  half-zaatt  high,  and  at 
one  o'clock  P.  M.  minote  guns  were  fired  from  the  fortreas, 
one  for  every  year  of  the  age  of  the  deceased  king. 

The  Lord  Provost  having  convened  the  noblemen  and 
gentlemen  of  the  city  and  neighbourhood,  to  assist  at  the 
proclamation  along  with  the  principal  citizens,  proceeded  at 
three  o'clock  with  the  £ail  of  Lauderdale,  the  High  Sheriff 
of  the  county,  preceded  by  the  heralds  and  pursuivants, 
and  accompanied  by  the  Magistrates  and  Council,  from  the 

House  to  the  Boyal  Exchange,  where  they 
Greorge  TTT.,  king;  in  the  following  terms: 
^  Whereas  it  has  pleased  Almighty  Ood  to  call  to  his  mercy 
our  late  sovereign  lord  King  George  the  Second  of  blessed 
memory,  by  whose  decease  the  imperial  crowns  of  Great 
Britain,  France  and  Ireland,  are  solely  and  iightfixlly  come 
to  the  high  and  mighty  prince  Greorge,  Prince  of  Wales; 
we,  therefore,  the  Lord  Provost,  Magistrates, 'and  Town 
Council  of  Edinburgh,  being  here  assisted  with  numbers  of 
noblemen  and  other  principal  gentlemen  of  quality,  do  now 
hereby,  with  one  voice  and  consent  of  tongue  and  heart, 
publish  and  proclaim  that  the  high  and  mighty  prince 
George,  Prince  of  Wales,  is  now,  by  the  death  of  our  late 
sovereign  of  happy  memory,  become  our  only  lawful  and 
rightful  liege  lord,  George  the  Third,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
King  of  Great  Britain,  France,*  and  Ireland,  Defender  of 
the  Faith,  and  so  forth :  to  whom  we  do  acknowledge  all 
faith  and  constant  obedience,  with  all  hearty  and  humble 
affection;  beseeching  God,  by  whom  kings  and  queens  do 
reign,  to  bless  the  royal  Prince  Geobge  the  Third  with 
long  and  happy  years  to  reign  over  us.  Given  at  Edin- 
burgh this  29th  day  of  October,  1760.   God  save  the  King." 

While  the  ancient  Cross  of  Edinburgh  stood  in  the  High 


•  Thu  aaninptiOD  of  the  title  of  King  of  Fnmee  by  the  eovereignt  of 
En^nd  had  boen  retuned  from  the  ancient  timet  of  Poictien  and  Agin- 
court,  and  was  only  given  up  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  on  the 
union  of  Qreat  Britain  with  Ireland. 


228  HI8T0BT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

Street,  the  proclamation  of  a  new  sovereign  had  been  always 
made  from  it,  and  such  was  the  course  followed  in  1727  on 
the  death  of  George  I.,  but  as  this  ancient  stmcture  was 
demolished  in  1756,  as  prerionslj  recorded,  the  Bojral 
Exchange  was  now  adopted  as  the  locality;  thence  the  pro* 
cession  proceeded  to  the  Castle-gate,  then  to  the  palace  of 
Holyrood,  proclaiming  the  accession  of  the  new  sovereign, 
the  first  native  British  prince  since  the  death  of  Queen 
Anne. 

The  general  mourning  for  the  late  king  commenced  in 
Edinburgh  on  9th  November,  when  the  royal  seat  in  the 
High  church,  or,  as  it  was  then  called,  the  New  chuxsh,  was 
covered  with  black.  The  funeral  of  Geoi^  II.  took  place 
on  the  11th  November,  when  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening 
minute  guns  were  again  fired  from  the  Castle,  and  the  fol- 
lowing day,  on  the  meeting  of  the  Court  of  Session  in  the 
Parliament  House,  the  judges,  lawyers^  writers  to  the  signet, 
and  other  agents,  took  the  oaths  of  allegiance  to  the  new 
king,  and  the  Lord  President  presented  to  the  court  the  in- 
strument recording  his  Majesty's  oath  relative  to  the  security 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland  taken  at  the  accession  of  a  new 
sovereign,  which  was  recorded  in  the  sederunt  book  and 
lodged  in  the  General  Register. 

Biogtapi^tc  Votitt  of  ^xt^ihaXO  CsmfhtU, 
Sn^trB  9vA$  of  3rgsle. 

Archibald  Campbell,  third  Duke  of  Argyle,  was 
bom  in  1680.  He  became  Lord  Treasurer  of  Scot* 
land  in  1705,  and  the  following  year  was  created  a  Scottish 
peer  as  Earl  of  Hay.  This  nobleman  was  a  special  favourite 
with  the  citizens  of  Edinburgh,  and  as  already  narrated, 
the^  chose  him  as  umpire  in  the  disputes  between  the 
merchants  and  trades  in  1729,  and  his  Decreet*arbitral  of 
the  following  year  gave  general  satisfaction.  He  was  for 
many  years   Lord   Register  of  Scotland,  and  afterwards 


1761.  ANKAUa.  229 

Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal  and  Lord  Jnstice  G^eraL  On 
the  death  of  his  elder  brother  John,  in  1743,  he  became 
Duke  of  Argjle.  He  died  15th  April,  1761.  His  fiineral 
took  place  from  the  palace  of  Hoi jrood,  acoompanied  hy  the 
nobility,  oiagistrates,  and  principal  citixeQS. 

• 
On  the  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  at  Ed* 
inborgh,  21st  May,  1761,  the  King's  Commissioner, 
Lord  Cathcart,  could  not  be  present  on  acooont  of  the  death 
of  the  Doke  of  Argyle,  the  Great  Seal  not  having  been  ap- 
pended to  his  Commission,  bnt  an  express  was  sent  to  Lon- 
don to  supply  this  defect,  and  on  26th  May,  his  Grace  walked 
in  state  to  the  Assembly  with  the  nsual  formalities  and  pre- 
sented his  Commission. 

The  fourth  of  June,  which  continued  for.  half-a-century 
to  be  held  as  a  holiday,  being  the  natal  day  of  George  HI., 
was  first  celebrated  in  Edinburgh,  in  1761,  with  great  re- 
joicing, and  in  the  evening  fireworks  were  displayed,  in 
Bearford's  park.  Squibs  and  crackers,  as  they  were  called, 
being  gunpowder  preparations  on  a  small  scale,  became 
the  noisy  and  disagreeable  expressions  of  joy,  elicited  fix>m 
the  younger  branches  of  the  population,  on  this  happy 
anniversaiy. 

Uwgtap^it  Xotite  of  ArcfitiialB  Oouglam 
i^t  Uuit  Otttu  of  dougUfU 

Archibald  Douglas,  the  last  Duke  of  Douglas,  was 
bom  in  1694.  He  was  the  nineteenth  male  heir  in 
lineal  succession  to  this  most  ancient  family,  whose  name 
had  been  so  prominent  in  Edinburgh,  as  well  as  in  gen- 
eral Scottish  history,  so  much  so,  Uiat  Sir  Walter  Scott 
cast  his  beautiful  lines  as  follows: 

^  Om  I  not  oMmntain  maiden  ipy, 
Bat  the  must  bear  the  DoagUa  eye? 
Can  I  not  view  a  Highland  brand. 
Bat  it  most  match  the  Donglac  hand? 


230  HLSTORT  OF  EDmBURGH. 

Can  I  not  fimme  a  feref'd  drsaro, 
Bnt  still  the  DoaglM  is  the  theme?'' 

In  fact,  the  family  of  Douglas  was  the  most  renowned  of 
any  baronial  fSunily  in  Europe.  They  were  created  lords  of 
Parliament  by  Malcolm  Canmore  in  the  eleventh  century, 
Earls  by  Robert  the  Bruce,  Marquesses  by  Charles  L,  and 
Dukes  by  Queen  Anne,  but  the  path  of  human  glory  ^  leads 
but  to  the  grave."  This  last  Duke  of  the  line  was  a  quiet 
sort  of  man;  he  died  at  Queensberry  House,  Canongate, 
21st  July,  1761,  and  his  name  became  more  prominent  in 
Edinburgh  ailer  his  death  than  during  his  life,  fix>m  his 
having  no  direct  male  heirs,  and  a  legal  contest  of  unprece- 
dented magnitude  and  importance  for  the  succession  to  the 
great  estates  of  the  House  of  Douglas,  immediately  com- 
mencing in  the  <I!ourt  of  Session  at  Edinburgh,  between  the 
Duke  of  Hamilton  and  Archibald  Douglas,  Esquire,  the 
nephew  of  the  late  Duke,  whom  it  was  attempted  to  prove 
only  a  supposititious  child  of  the  late  Lady  Jane  Douglas, 
wife  of  Sir  John  Stewart  of  Grandtully,  and  sister  of  the 
deceased  and  last  Duke  of  Douglas.  On  9th  September, 
1761,  this  gentleman  was  served  heir  of  tailzie  to  his  uncle 
the  late  Duke,  but  the  litigation  took  its  course,  and  was 
only  finally  settled  some  years  afterwards,  as  we  shall  then 
have  occasion  to  narrate  in  our  historic  annals  of  Edinburgh. 

On  the  8th  September,  1761,  King  George  HI.  was 
married  to  the  Princess  Charlotte  of  Mecklenburgh-Strelitz, 
and  on  the  22d  of  the  same  month,  the  coronation  of  both 
their  Majesties  took  place  at  Westminster. 
«-  In  Edinburgh,  the  day  was  celebrated  with  much  re- 
joicing. At  noon  the  great  guns  of  the  Castle  were  fired, 
answered  by  volleys  from  the  war-ships  in  Leith  roads,  and 
at  four  o'clock  the  Magistrates,  accompanied  by  distinguished 
noblemen  and  citizens,  went  in  procession  fin)m  the  Coxuicil 
Chamber  to  the  Parliament  House,  and  drank  to  the  healths 
of  their  Majesties  and  the  royal  family,  and  in  the  evening, 


17G8.  ANNAL&  231 

the  city  was  iUtuninated  and  fireworks  were  exhibited  iii 
Bearford's  park  and  on  the  North  Loch,  a  boat  having  been 
brought  np  from  Leith  for  the  purpose.  This  had  a  fine 
efiect  on  the  sor&ce  of  the  water,  and  was  probably  almost 
the  last  appearance  of  the  loch  in  the  dtj,  as  its  waters 
were  so  soon  after  drained. 

In  1761,  five  shilling  bank  notes  were  issued  in 

Edinburgh,  by  Mansfield,  Hunter  and  Co.,  bankers, 
and  they  became  current  in  the  city  for  business  transactions. 
They  were  dated  1st  June,  1761,  and  of  the  following  tenor: 
^  We  promise,  to  pay  John  Crawford,  or  bearer,  on  demand, 
five  shillings  sterling,  value  received.  Mansfield,  Hunter  and 
Co."  The  object  in  issuing  them  was  to  remedy  the  ex* 
isting  scarcity  of  specie,  but  the  heritors  of  the  shire  of  Ed- 
inburgh objected  to  them,  and  they  were  soon  recalled  fix)m 
circulation. 

The  year  prior  to  the  death  of  Oeoige  H.,  the 

Magistrates  had  prepared  the  draught  of  a  bill  for 
the  extension  of  the  royalty,  but,  in  consequence  of  oppo- 
sition firom  the  gentlemen  of  the  county  of  Mid-Lothian,  it 
was  abandoned.  On  this  the  Magistrates  set  about  pre- 
parations for  building  a  new  bridge  across  the  ravine  lying 
to  the  north  of  the  ancient  city,  and  to  obtain  a  solid  foun- 
dation for  the  same,  they  had  the  North  Loch  drained  in 
1763. 

The  following  notice  was  inserted  in  the  newspapers  by 
the  Town  Council,  in  July,  1768.  It  is  curious  as  indicating 
the  special  views  with  which  the  North  Bridoe  was  built, 
and  describing  the  existing  features  of  the  locality:  ^'  As  it 
is  greatly  desired,  for  the  public  utility,  that  a  road  of  com- 
munication be  made  betwixt  the  High  Street  of  Edinburgh 
and  the  adjacent  grounds  belonging  to  the  city,  and  the 
other  neighbouring  fields,  as  well  as  to  the  port  of  Leith, 
by  building  a  stone  bridge  over  the  east  end  of  the  North 
Loch,  at  least  forty  feet  wide  betwixt  the  parapets  of  the 
said  bridge,  and  upon  an  equal  declivity  of  one  foot  in  sixteen 


232  HISTORY  OF  EDINfiUBQH. 

from  tha  High  Street,  at  the  Cap  and  Feather  Cloee,  in  a 
straight  line  to  the  opposite  side  leading  to  Multree  Hills  :*' 
They  then  proceeded  to  advertise  for  plans  and  estimates. 

On  the  termination  of  the  seven  years  Continental  war, 
peace  was  proclaimed  at  Edinburgh  29th  March,  1763. 
When  this  proclamation  was  made  at  the  Castle  gate,  a 
round  of  twenty-one  guns  was  fired.  In  the  afternoon,  the 
Magistrates,  accompanied  by  several  noblemen,  gentlemen, 
and  principal  citizens,  walked  in  procession  from  the  Parlia- 
ment House  to  the  Assembly  Hall,  and  celebrated  the 
event.  The  day  was  also  held  as  a  rejoicing  festival  by 
water-works  and  ringing  of  bells. 

From  1763  to  1765,  various  tumults  took  place  in  Edin- 
burgh, on  account  of  the  high  price  of  provisions.  In  the 
latter  year  the  military  were  called  out,  and  the  Magistrates 
agreed  to  give  security  to  those  bringing  in  provisions  for 
their  safety  or  indemnification. 

BContayf^ic  Xotite  of  O^arbn  Smftfoe, 
lots  guntict  eUxiL  . 

Charles  Erskine  of  Tinwald,  Lord  Justice  Clerk, 
was  bom  1680,  passed  advocate  in  1711,  was  raised 
to  ihe  bench  in  1744,  as  Lord  Tinwald,  and  appointed  Lord 
Justice  Clerk  in  1748.  He  long  resided  in  two  flats  of  a 
large  land  on  the  west  side  of  Mylne  Square,  and  he  after- 
wards bought  Drumsheugh  House  as  a  country  residence, 
though  the  locality  on  which  it  stood,  now  forms  part  of  the 
New  town  of  Edinburgh.  Lord  Justice  Clerk  Tinwald 
died  in  1763. 

The  foundation-stone  of  the  North  Bridge  was  laid  by 

the  Lord  Provost,  Drummond,  21st  October,  1763,  and 

this  was  an  event  of  so  much  importance  in  the  history  of 

JBdinburgh,  being  in  reality  the  commencement  of  the  new 

city,  that  the  details  become  interesting.    Piles  had  been 


1768.  ANNAI&  233 

preyioQsIj  driTen  into  the  ground  to  make  the  foundation 
firm,  and  on  that  day,  half  a  centoxy  afterwards,  rendered 
still  more  remarkable  in  the  calendar  as  Trafalgar  day,  the 
body  of  Free  Masons,  to  the  extent  of  nearly  six  hondred, 
assembled  in  the  Parliament  Hoose  at  two  o'clock,  and  went 
in  procession  firom  there,  arranged  according  to  their  different 
lodges.  The  Grand  Lodge,  preceded  by  a  band  of  music,  and 
the  whole  escorted  by  two  companies  of  military  and  the  dty 
guard,  went  down  the  High  Street  by  the  Ketherbow  and 
Leith  Wynd,  and  the  road  leading  west  from  the  port  at  the 
foot  of  that  wynd,  to  the  spot  where  the  foundation  of  the 
NoBTH  Bbidoe  was  laid,  being  a  few  paces  to  the  north  of 
what  was  then  called  the  New  Port  at  the  foot  of  Halker- 
ston's  Wynd. 

It  is  somewhat  difficult  at  the  present  day  to  realise  to  the 
imagination  the  appearance  of  these  localities  at  that  period, 
the  ravine  newly  drained  of  the  city  lake,  so  long  known  as 
the  North  Loch,  and  the  ascent  up  on  the  northern  side  to 
the  place  where  the  Register  House  now  stands,  then  bear- 
ing the  name  of  Moutry's  or  Multree  Hill.  At  the  spot 
where  the  foundation  was  laid,  scaffolding  was  erected  for 
the  Free  Masons,  and  the  stone  was  placed  with  all  the  usual 
solemnities  by  the  chief  Magistrate,  amid  the  acclamations 
of  the  surrounding  crowd  of  spectators.  The  whole  con- 
cluded at  five  o'clock  by  singing  an  anthem,  when  the  pro- 
cession returned  to  the  Assembly  Hall. 

Below  the  foundation-stone  were  placed  three  medals 
struck  for  the  occasion,  on  one  of  which  was  an  elevation  of 
the  intended  North  Bridge,  and  on  another  a  bust  of  George 
TTT-j  and  on  the  third  the  following  inscription,  which  was 
also  cut  on  the  stone: 

F.  D.  0.  M. 

PoDtus  ad  Letham  Edinb.  portum 

Lapidem  hnnc  fuidaminia  prindpium 

posuit 
Georgius  I^mmondus  Armiger 


234  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBan. 

Urbis  Consul 

Pmtorii  sui  anno  duodecimo 

Die  Octb.  zzL  a.  d.  MOCCLZzn. 

^ne  autem  architeotonicn  anno 

▼HDCCLZm. 

Honorabili  Summe  colendo  viro 

Carolo  Comite  de  Elgin 

Apud  Scotos  Artia  hujus  Curione  mazimo 

ao  Georgii  IIL 

Mag.  Britan.  Fr.  et  Hib.  Beges 

anno  m. 

Q.  D.  B.  V. 

TramlaiMn. 

By  the  &vour  of  Almi^ty  Gbd, 

George  Drununond,  Esq., 

Lord  Provoat  of  this  oity) 

laid 

This  foundation-stone  of  the  bridge  leading  towards  Leith, 

The  sea-port  of  the  city  of  Edinburgh, 

In  the  twelfth  year  of  his  ProTOstship, 

-    Upon  the  21st  da^  of  October, 

In  the  year  of  our  Lord  1763, 

and  of  the  era  of  Masonry  5763, 

The  Bight  Hon.  and  Most  Worshipful 

Charles  Earl  of  Elgin 

being  Grand  Master  Mason  of  Scotland, 

and  of  the  reign  of  George  HI., 

King  of  Great  Britain,  France  and  Ireland, 

The  third  year. 

Which  may  the  Supreme  God  prosper. 

The  Netherbow  Port,  the  gate  of  the  city  by  which 

Prince  Charles's  forces  entered  in  1745,  and  which 

was  built  in  a  castellated  style,  surmounted  by  a  handsome 

spire,  was  pulled  down  in  1764*    Thus  finally  changing  the 

fortified  and  enclosed  character  of  the  old  city. 


1765.  AKNALfi.  235 

The  Speculative  Society  was  institnted  in  1764,  by  a  few 
Btadents.  Its  object  was  the  cultivation  of  literary  and  legal 
porsnitSy  and  improvement  in  composition  and  public  speak- 
ing. It  gradually  came  to  be  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
literary  societies  in  Edinburgh. 

David  Mallet,  the  poet,  was  bom  in  1700.  He 
was  tutor  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Home  in  Edinburgh, 
in  1720,  but  being  uncomfortably  situated  there,  he  got  the 
appointment  of  tutor  to  two  sons  of  the  Duke  of  Montrose. 
His  ballad  of  William  and  Margaret  appeared  in  a  periodical 
called  the  Plain-Dealer,  in  1723.  His  original  name  was 
Malloch  but  he  changed  it  to  Mallet.  He  was  appointed 
under-eecretaxy  to  Frederick,  Prince  of  Wales,  the  great- 
grand-father  of  Queen  Victoria.  He  wrote  a  life  of  Lord 
Bacon  in  1789.  He  was  an  intimate  of  Pope  the  poet.  He 
died  2l8t'April,  1765. 

Biogtoiilic  Kotfce  of  JFames  Iter. 

James  Ker  of  Boughtridge  was  a  respectable 
jeweller  in  Edinburgh.  He  was  elected  Deacon  of 
the  Groldsmiths  in  17d4,  and  Convener  of  the  Trades  in 
1746,  and  the  following  year  was  chosen  member  of  Parlia- 
ment for  the  dty,  and  continued  to  represent  his  native  city 
in  Parliament  till  1754.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Lord 
Charles  Kerr,  the  son  of  the  Marquis  of  Lothian.  Mr.  Ker 
died  in  1765. 

The  contract  with  the  architect  WOliam  Mylne, 

for  building  the  North  Bridge,  was  not  completed 

till  21st  August,  1765.    The  sum  agreed  on  was  £10,000, 

the  work  to  be  completed  by  Martinmas,  1769,  and  the 

architect  engaging  to  uphold  it  for  ten  years. 


236  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

Wliile  80  much  attention  had  been  bestowed  on 

i7na_ 

the  extension  of  Edinburgh  to  the  North,  the  im- 
prorement  of  the  Soathem  quarters  of  the  dty  was  not  ne- 
glected. George  Sqnare  was  boilt  almost  ooend  with  the 
New  town,  being  begun  in  1766. 

fUtS  Sftmtftt  Cbriu 

Andrew  Fletcher,  Lord  ^iilton,  a  distinguished 
Scottish  judge,  was  bom  1692,  passed  advocate 
1717,  was  elevated  to  the  bench  in  1724  when  a  yoong  man, 
and  in  1735  he  was  appointed  Lord  Justice  Clerk,  a  posi- 
tion he  occupied  tiQ  1748,  when  he  resigned*  Lord  Milton 
had  great  political  power  in  Scotland,  and  held  a  sort  of 
court  levee  at  his  house  in  Edinburgh;  his  knowledge 
of  Scottish  affairs  was  very  great.  He  died  in  1766.  ^a 
residence  was  Milton  House,  an  old-&shioned  isolated  man- 
sion in  the  Canongate,  which  has  since  been  variouslj  oc- 
cupied as  a  Roman  Catholic  school,  and  as  the  Boyal  Ma- 
ternity Hospital. 

B(0gra]ri^ir  VoUtt  of  Vroboirt  arttmmotilL 

There  were  few  chief  Magbtrates  of  Edinbux^ 
so  active  and  usefiil  in  their  day  and  generation  as 
George  Drummond.  He  was  bom  1687,  was  educated  at 
Edinburgh,  and  in  1707  was  appointed  Accountant-general 
of  the  Excise.  He  fooght  at  the  Battle  of  Sherifiinuir  in 
1715,  two  years  afterwards  was  nominated  a  Commissioner 
of  Customs,  in  1725  he  became  Lord  Provost  of  Edinburgh. 
The  Boyal  Lifirmary  was  instituted  and  erected  through  his 
exertions.  His  third  provostship  commenced  in  1750,  when 
the  Boyal  Exchange  and  numerous  other  improvements 
were  projected  by  him.  In  his  sixth  provostship  1763,  as 
already  narrated,  he  laid  the  foundation  of  the  North  Bridge. 


17€7.  ANKAIA  237 

He  died  4kih  November,  1766.    There  is  a  bust  of  him  bj 
Nolleldns  in  the  Eoyal  Infirmary. 

In  1767,  an  act  was  obtained  for  extending  the 
royalty  over  the  fields  to  the  north  of  the  dty.  The 
Magistrates  advertised  for  plans  of  buildings  to  be  erected 
there,  in  a  regular  and  handsome  manner,  and  after  com- 
petition, the  designs  by  Mr.  James  Craig,  architect,  were 
adopted,  and  an  engraving  of  them  published. 

Few  modem  cities  were  planned  with  better  taste  than  the 
New  town  of  Edinburgh;  Mr.  Craig  making  the  streets 
generally  run  at  right  angles,  rendered  the  design  elegant, 
and  it  thus  formed  a  complete  contrast  and  foil  to  the  pictur- 
esque and  irregular  masses  of  the  Old  city  of  Edinburgh. 
The  building  of  the  New  town  commenced  with  Prince's 
Street.  The  lots  for  building  were  purchased  or  feued* 
readily  from  the  Magistrates,  and  a  beautiful  free  sand-stone 
being  obtained  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  cit}', 
contributed  greatly  to  the  rapidity  with  which  the  streets 
and  squares  were  erected.  The  whole  New  town  of  Edin- 
burgh was  built  firom  one  large  quarry  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
city,  Cnugleith. 

Btogtajrf^ic  JStotic^  ot  Or.  ^ItxsMtx  t&onxo. 

The  name  of  Monro,  as  well  as  that  of  Gregory, 
has  been  famous  in  the  medical  school  of  Edinburgh. 
Dr.  Alexander  Monro,  Primus^  was  in  fact  the  founder  of 
that  school.  He  was  bom  in  London  1697,  and  was  ap- 
]x>inted  Professor  of  Anatomy  in  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh, 1719,  and  with  the  co-operation  of  Drs.  Alston,  Sin- 
clair and  Rutherford  in  other  lectureships  in  the  city,  along 
vnth  the  establishment  of  the  JRoyal  Infirmary  about  the 
year  1728,  which  latter  was  chiefly  accomplished  by  the  ex- 

*  A  Feu  is  a  Scottish  phrase  unintelligible  to  Englishmen,  it  simply 
means  a  ground-rent 


238  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

ertiona  of  the  first  Monro  combined  with  those  of  Provost 
Dmnimondy  the  fame  of  the  Edinburgh  medical  sfshool 
was  first  npreared,  and  that  &me  it  has  now  maintained  for 
considerably  upwards  of  a  century,  bringing  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Edinburgh  students  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 
Monro's  Treatise  on  the  Anatomy  of  the  Bones  appeared  in 
1726,  and  a  translation  was  afterwards  brought  out  in  Paris. 
He  resigned  his  chair  in  1759,  and  died  in  July,  1767.  His 
son  was  his  successor  in  the  Anatomical  chair. 


fiMtitt  of  fiAic^szl  Hxutt. 

Michael  Bruce,  the  Scottish  poet,  was  bom  in 
Ejnross-shire,  27th  March,  1746.  He  was  sent  to 
the  University  of  Edinburgh  in  1762,  where  he  remained 
four  years  and  attended  the  literary  and  divinity  classes. 
He  taught  a  school  first  at  Gaimey-Bridge,  and  then  at 
Forrest  Mill  near  Alloa.  While  in  delicate  health  he  wrote 
his  beautiful  and  touching  elegy  on  spring  commencing: 

**  Now  spring  retains;  bat  not  to  me  retorns 
The  ▼ernal  Joy  mj  better  years  hare  known; 
Dim  in  my  breast  life's  dying  taper  boms, 
And  all  the  joys  of  life  with  health  are  flown." 

He  died  6th  July,  1767.  As  a  poet,  his  name  ranks  with 
those  of  early  blasted  hopes,  the  Chattertons  and  Henry 
Kirke  Whites. 

Singraii^to  fiMtitt  of  JFotii  ^ftnkfm. 

John  Erskine  of  Camock,  Professor  of  Scots  law 

1768> 

in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  passed  Advocate 
1719,  and  was  elected  to  the  chair  in  1737.  His  Principles 
of  the  Law  of  Scotland  appeared  in  1754.  He  resigned  his 
professorship  in  1765,  and  died  three  years  after.  EQs  post- 
humous work,  the  Institutes  of  the  Law  of  Scotland,  was 


1769.  ANNALB.  289 

not  puUiftbed  till  1773.    He  was  the  Mher  of  the  Bev.  Dr. 
John  Enkane  of  EdinbnzgL 

The  fiunooB  Douglas  cause  was  decided  before 
the  House  of  Peers  m  1769.  This  was  a  protracted 
litigatioD  which  arose  on  the  death  of  the  last  Duke  of 
Douglas,  in  1761.  The  title  and  estates  were  claimed  by 
the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  and  also  by  Mr.  Archibald  Douglas, 
the  son  of  Lady  Jane  Douglas  or  Stewart.  The  relation* 
ship  of  Mr.  Douglas  as  nephew  to  the  last  Duke  of  Dou- 
glas, and  son  of  Lady  Jane,  was  disputed,  and  this  gave 
rise  to  the  important  litigation  in  question.  It  excited  con- 
siderable interest  over  all  Scotland,  but  more  especiaUy  in 
Edinburgh,  where  Lady  Jane  Douglas  had  long  been  a  re- 
sidenter,  and  on  the  aixival  of  the  intelligence  that  her  son 
had  gained  the  cause,  and  thus  become  inheritor  of  the 
extensive  Douglas  estates,  there  was  great  rgoicing,  and  an 
illumination  took  place  in  the  dty.  The  expenses  of  the 
lawsuit  amounted  to  about  £100,000.  Mr.  Douglas  was 
afterwards  created  a  BritLsh  peer  as  Lord  Douglas  of  Dou- 
glas, the  Duke  of  Hamilton  having  succeeded  to  the  ancient 
Scottish  peerage  of  Marquis  of  Douglas. 

The  North  Bridge  was  nearly  completed,  when  on 
3d  August,  1769,  the  vaults  and  side  walls  on  the 
south  end  gave  way,  and  five  people  were  buried  in  the 
ruins;  among  these  was  Mr.  James  Fergus,  Writer  to  the 
Signet.  Though  this  event  created  considerable  alarm  in 
Edinburgh,  it  was  fortunate  that  it  did  not  occur  a  few 
hours  earlier,  when  a  crowd  was  returning  fix>m  hearing  a 
sermon  delivered  in  the  Orphan  Hospital  park,  by  that 
fisunous  and  eloquent  preacher,  George  Whitefield,  who  was 
then  on  a  visit  to  E(finburgh.  The  bridge  was  repaired 
by  taking  down  the  side  walls  at  some  parts  and  rebuilding 
them,  and  in  others  by  strengthening  them  with  chain  bars, 
and  removing  a  load  of  earth  that  had  been  laid  on  the 
bridge  and  supplying  its  place  with  hollow  arches  between 


240  HI8T0BY  OF  EDIKBUBQH. 

the  aides  of  the  great  arches,  sopportiiig  the  whole  of  the 
soath  end  with  strong  battressea  and  coonterforts.  The 
bridge  was  completed  in  1772. 

BCograyi^  VotUt  of  CTWTfant  J^abmtt. 

William  Falconer,  the  author  of  the  Shipwreck, 
was  bom  in  Edinborgh,  1730.  EBs  father  was  a 
wigraaker  in  the  Ketherbow,  and  the  poet  was  a  relation 
of  Principal  Bobertson  and  Lord  Brougham.  He  received 
a  humble  education  in  Edinbm^h,  and  afterwards  sailed 
from  Leith  in  a  merchant  vessel.  His  celebrated  poem 
^  The  Shipwreck  "  was  published  in  1762.  It  was  dedi- 
cated to  Edward,  Duke  of  Yoric,  through  whose- recom- 
mendation he  became  a  midshipman  on  board  the  Boyal 
George.  Murray,  a  London  bibliopole,  grand&ther  of  the 
present  eminent  publisher,  offered  Falconer  a  share  of  his 
business,  which  he  declined.  He  sailed  for  India  as  parser 
in  the  Aurora,  30th  September,  1769.  The  vessel  was  never 
more  heard  of,  and  was  supposed  to  have  foundered  at  sea. 


The  salary  of  the  Lord  Provost  was  raised  in 

1771. 

1771,  from  £300  to  £500  per  annum.  Subsequent 
additions  at  various  periods  were  made  to  this  allowance, 
bat  at  the  period  we  write,  this  is  still  the  annual  sum  voted 
to  the  Lord  Provost  to  support  the  dignity  of  the  dvic  chair. 

The  EncyclopsBdia  Britannica,  one  of  the  greatest  literary 
undertakings  emanating  from  Edinburgh,  had  its  origin  in 
1771,  in  three  volumes.  The  first  edition  which  then  ap- 
peared, the  germ  of  the  future  great  work,  was  edited  by 
Mr.  William  SmeUie. 

There  had  long  been  a  great  want  in  the  metropolis  of  a 
saitable  building  for  preserving  the  public  archives  and  re- 
gisters of  Scotland.  In  1765,  a  grant  of  £12,000  was  ob- 
tained from  the  forfeited  estates  frmd,  for  this  purpose,  and 
the  sum  having  fructified,  a  beautiftd  design  was  obtained 


177S.  ANKAL&  241 

from  Bobert  Adam,  the  celebrated  architect,  and  the  foun- 
dation stone  of  the  Begister  Hoose,  one  of  the  most  chaste 
and  splendid  buildings  in  Edinburgh,  was  laid  by  Lord 
Frederick  Campbell,  in  presence  of  the  public  bodies  of  the 
city,  and  amid  a  discharge  of  artOlery,  27th  June,  1774. 

The  building  of  the  New  town  proceeded  gradually  north 
and  westward,  after  the  first  or  most  eastern  division  of 
Prince's  Street,  St.  Andrew's  Square,  and  St.  Andrew's 
Street,  and  St  David  Street  were  built.  They  were  finished 
about  1778.  The  Physician's  Hall  in  George  Street  was 
commenced  in  1775,  and  St.  Andrew's  Church  opposite  to 
it  in  1781. 

The  Physician's  Hall  receded  a  little  from  the  regular 
line  of  the  street,  while  the  cliurch  projected  slightly  be- 
yond it,  which  led  to  Henry  Erskine's  remark,  that  the 
forwardness  of  the  church  and  the  backwardness  of  the  phy- 
sicians had  spoiled  the  finest  street  in  Europe.  In  1790, 
the  building  of  the  New  town  had  progressed  westward  as 
far  as  Frederick  Street. 

A  considerable  sensation  was  made  in  Edinburgh 

1772.  ® 

in  1772,  by  the  suspension  of  payment  of  Douglas, 
Heron  and  Co.,  bankers  at  Ayr,  they  having  a  considerable 
agency  at  Edinburgh,  and  two  distinguished  Scottish  noble- 
men  being  connected  with  it.  This  event  was  generally 
called  the  failure  of  the  Douglas  and  Heron  bank. 

Suigtapi^u  Kotttr  of  JFof^it  Gregors* 

Dr.  John  Grefforv,  the  author  of  the  "  Father's 

1773-  * 

Legacy  to  his  Daughter,"  was  bom  in  1724.  He 
was  a  cousin  of  Dr.  Reid,  the  author  of  the  Inquiry  into  the 
Human  Mind.  He  studied  at  Edinburgh  and  Leyden. 
He  was  appointed  Professor  of  Medicine,  King's  College, 
Aberdeen^  1755.  Ten  years  ai);erwards  he  was  elected  Pro- 
fessor of  the  Practice  of  Physic  in  Edinburgh  University, 
and  had  extensive  practice  there  as  a  physician.     He  died 


242  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

9th  February,  1773.  In  the  Universities  of  Scotland,  there 
has  been  a  long  line  of  illustrious  Gregorys — and  mathe- 
matics and  medicine  were  their  departments  in  science. 

The  visit  of  the  great  English  lexicographer,  the 
urta  major  of  British  literature,  was  an  event  in  the 
Iiistory  of  Edinburgh.  He  arrived  in  the  Scottish  metro- 
polis with  Sir  William  Scott,  afterwards  Lord  Stowell. 
His  biographer  Boswell,  had  long  urged  him  to  this  visit, 
and  gives  the  narrative  of  it  with  his  usual  amiwing  graphic 
accuracy. 

Samuel  Johnson,  and  Scott,  arrived  on  the  14th  August, 
1773,  at  Boyd's  Inn  at  the  head  of  the  Canongate,  which  was 
then  a  much  frequented  inn,  known  by  the  name  of  the 
White  Horse,  and  as  the  New  town  was  then  only  starting 
into  existence,  its  hotels  had  not  yet  superseded  the  ancient 
hostelries  of  the  Old  town.  Boswell's  details  serve  also  to  il- 
lustrate the  manners  of  the  citizens  at  this  period.  He  im- 
mediately waited  on  his  illnstrious  friend  at  the  head  of  the 
Canongate,  who  embraced  him  cordially,  and  Scott  stated 
to  him  that  before  he  came  in,  Johnson  had  got  unfortu- 
nately a  bad  specimen  of  Scottish  cleanliness.  He  then 
drank  no  fermented  liquor,  and  had  asked  to  have  his 
lemonade  made  sweeter,  on  which  the  waiter  with  his  greasy 
fingers  lifted  a  lump  of  sugar  and  put  it  into  it,  Johnson,  in 
indignation,  threw  the  liquid  out  of  the  window,  and  Scott 
was. afraid  he  would  have  knocked  the  waiter  down.  John- 
son, during  the  period  of  his  stay  in  Edinburgh,  had  agreed 
to  lodge  under  Boswell's  roof,  a  comfortable  flat  in  the  large 
pile  of  buildings  at  the  head  of  the  Earthen  Mound,  called 
James's  Court,  and  which  is  now  one  of  the  few  remains  of 
buildings-  in  Edinburgh,  ten  stories  high. 

Boswell  says,  '^  Johnson  and  I  walked  arm-in-arm  up  the 
High  Street,  to  my  house  in  James's  Court:  it  was  a  dusky 
night:  I  could  not  prevent  bis  being  assailed  by  the  evening 
effluvia  of  Edinburgh.     I  heard  a  late  baronet,  of  some  dis- 


1773.  AKNAL8.  248 

tinction  in  the  political  world  in  the  beginning  of  the  pre- 
sent reign,  observe,  that  ^  walking  the  streets  of  Edinburgh 
at  night  was  pretty  perilous,  and  a  good  deal  odoriferous.* 
The  peril  is  much  abated  bj  the  care  which  the  magistrates 
have  taken  to  enforce  the  dty  laws  against  throwing  foul 
water  firom  the  windows;  but,  from  the  structure  of  the 
houses  in  the  old  town,  which  consist  of  many  stories,  in 
each  of  which  a  different  family  lives,  and  there  being  no 
covered  sewers,  the  odour  still  continues.  A  zealous  Scots- 
man would  have  wished  ^fr.  Johnson  to  be  without  one  of 
his  five  senses  upon  this  occasion.  As  we  marched  slowly 
along,  he  grumbled  in  my  ear,  ^  I  smell  you  in  the  dark!' 
But  he  acknowledged  that  the  breadth  of  the  street,  and  the 
loftiness  of  the  buildings  on  each  side,  made  a  noble  ap- 
pearance. My  wife  had  tea  ready  for  him,  which  it  is  well 
known  he  delighted  to  drink  at  all  hours,  particularly  when 
sitting  up  late. 

'^  We  sat  till  near  two  in  the  morning,  having  chatted  a 
good  while  after  my  wife  left  us.  She  had  insisted  that  to 
show  all  respect  to  the  sage  she  would  give  up  her  own 
bed-chamber  to  him. 

^  Sir  William  Forbes,  Mr.  Scott,  and  I,  accompanied  Mr. 
Johnson  to  the  chapel,  founded  by  Lord  Chief  Baron  Smith, 
for  the  service  of  the  church  of  England. 

"  I  obtained  a  promise  from  Lord  Chief  Baron  Orde* 
that  he  would  dine  at  my  house  next  day.  I  presented  Mr. 
Johnson  to  his  lordsliip,  who  politely  said  to  him,  '  I  have 
not  the  honour  of  knowing  you;  but  I  hope  for  it,  and  to 
see  you  at  my  house.     I  am  to  wait  on  you  to-morrow.' 

'^  While  we  were  talking,  there  came  a  note  to  me  from 
Dr.  William  Robertson. 

'  Dbjlb  SiBf — I  have  been  expecting  every  day  to  bear  from  yoa  of  Dr. 
Johneon^s  arriral.  Pny,  wbat  do  you  know  abont  his  motions?  I  long  to 
take  bim  by  the  hand.  J  write  this  fhxm  the  college,  where  I  have  only 
this  scrap  of  paper.    Ever  yours,  *  W.  H.' 

"  It-pleased  me  to  find  Dr.  Bx>bertson  thus  eager  to  meet 


244  mSTORT  OF  edinbuboh. 

Dr.  Johnson.  I  was  glad  I  could  answer  that  he  was  come; 
and  I  b^ged  Dr.  Robertson  might  be  with  as  as  soon  as  he 
coaId« 

''  Sir  William  Forbes,  Mr.  Scott,  Mr.  Arbnthnot,  and 
another  gentleman,  dined  with  as*  ^  Come,  Dr.  Johnson,' 
said  I,  ^  it  is  commonly  thought  that  oar  veal  in  Scotland  is 
not  good.  Bat  here  is  some  which  I  believe  70a  will  like.' 
There  was  no  catching  him.  Johnson.  ^  Why,  sir,  what 
is  commonly  thoaght,  I  should  take  to  be  trae.  Your  veal 
may  be  good;  bat  that  will  only  be  an  exception  to  the  gen- 
eral opinion,  not  a  proof  against  it.' 

^^  Dr.  Robertson,  according  to  the  custom  of  Edinburgh  at 
that  time,  dined  in  the  interval  between  the  forenoon  and 
afternoon  service,  which  was  then  later  than  now;  so  we 
had  not  the  pleasure  of  his  company  till  dinner  was  over, 
when  he  came  and  drunk  wine  with  us. 

^^  We  walked  out,  that  Dr.  Johnson  might  see  some  of  the 
things  which  we  have  to  show  at  Edinburgh.  We  went  to 
the  parliament-house,  where  the  parliament  of  Scotland  sat, 
and  where  the  ordinary  lords  of  session  hold  their  courts, 
and  to  the  new  session-house  adjoining  to  it,  where  our 
court  of  fifteen  (the  fourteen  ordinaries,  with  the  lord  presi- 
dent at  their  head)  sit  as  a  court  of  review.  We  went  to 
the  advocates'  library,  of  which  Dr.  Johnson  took  a  cursory 
new,  and  then  to  what  is  called  tlie  Laigh  (or  under)  par- 
liament-house, where  the  records  of  Scotland,  which  has  an 
universal  secarity  by  register,  are  deposited,  till  the  great 
register  office  be  finished. 

"  We  next  went  to  the  great  church  of  St.  Giles,  which 
has  lost  its  original  magnificence  in  the  inside,  by  being 
divided  into  fom*  places  of  presbyterian  worship.  *  Come,' 
said  Dr.  Johnson  jocularly  to  Principal  Robertson,  *  let  me 
see  what  was  once  a  church!'  We  entered  that  division 
which  was  formerly  called  the  New  Church,  and  of  late  the 
High  Church,  so  well  known  by  the  eloquence  of  Dr.  Hugh 
Blair.     It  is  now  very  elegantly  fitted  up;  but  it  was  then 


1773.  ANNAUB.  245 

shamcfiilly  dirty.  Dr.  Johnson  said  nothing -at  the  time; 
bat  when  we  came  to  the  great  door  of  the  royal  infirmary^ 
where,  upon  a  board,  was  this  inscription,  ^  Clean  your 
feetr  he  turned  about  slyly,  and  said,  '  There  is  no  occasion 
for  patting  this  at  the  doors  of  your  chorchesT 

^  We  then  condacted  him  down  the  Posthonse-stairs,  Par- 
liamentrdose,  and  made  him  look  np  from  the  Cowgate  to 
the  highest  bailding  in  Edinburgh  (from  which  he  had  just 
descended),  being  thirteen  floors  or  stories  frx>m  the  ground 
upon  the  back  elevation;  tlie  frx)nt  wall  being  built  upon 
the  edge  of  the  hill,  and  the  back  wall  rising  frx>m  the  bot^ 
torn  of  the  hill  several  stories  before  it  comes  to  a  level  with 
the  front  walL  We  proceeded  to  the  college,  with  the  prin- 
cipal at  our  head«  Dr.  Adam  Ferguson,  whose  ^  Essay  on 
the  History  of  Civil  Society ''  gives  him  a  respectable  place 
in  the  ranks  of  literature,  was  with  us.  As  the  college 
buildings  are  indeed  very  mean,  the  principal  said  to  Dr. 
Johnson,  that  he  must  give  them  the  same  epithet  that  a 
Jesuit  did  when  showing  a  poor  college  abroad:  ^  Hw  misi- 
rioB  noetriE,*  Dr.  Johnson  was,  however,  much  pleased 
with  the  library,  and  with  the  conversation  of  Dr.  James 
Robertson,  professor  of  oriental  languages,  the  librarian. 

^1  pointed  out  to  him  where  there  formerly  stood  an 
old  wall  enclosing  part  of  the  college,  which  I  remember 
bulged  out  in  a  threatening  manner,  and  of  which  there  was 
a  common  tradition  similar  to  that  concerning  Bacon^s  study 
at  Oxford,  that  it  would  fall  upon  some  very  learned  man. 
It  had  some  time  before  this  been  taken  down,  that  the 
street  might  be  widened,  and  a  more  convenient  wall  built. 
Dr.  Johnson,  glad  of  an  opportunity  to  have  a  pleasant  hit 
at  Scottish  learning,  said,  '  they  have  been  afraid  it  never 
would  fall.' 

^  We  showed  him  the  royal  infirmary,  for  which,  and  for 
every  other  exertion  of  generous  public  spirit  in  his  power, 
that  noble-minded  citizen  of  Edinburgh,  George  Drummond, 
will  be  ever  held  in  honourable  remembrance.     And  we  were 


246  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

too  proud  not  to  caixy  him  to  the  abbej  of  Holyrood  Hooae, 
that  beaatiftil  piece  of  architecture,  bat,  alas!  that  deserted 
mansion  of  royalty,  which  Hamilton  of  Bangoor,  in  one  of 
his  elegant  poems,  calls 

*  A  Tirtaous  palace,  where  no  monaroh  dwells.' 

^^I  was  mach  entertained  while  Principal  Sobertson 
fluently  harangued  to  Dr.  Johnson,  upon  the  spot,  concern- 
ing scenes  of  his  celebrated  History  of  Scotland.  We  sur- 
veyed that  part  of  the  palace  appropriated  to  the  Duke  of 
Hamilton,  as  keeper,  in  which  our  beautiful  Queen  ^lary 
lived,  and  in  which  David  Kizzio  was  mardered,  and  also  the 
itate  rooms.  Dr.  Johnson  was  a  great  reciter  of  all  sorts  of 
things,  serious  or  comical.  I  overheard  him  repeating  here, 
in  a  kind  of  muttering  tone,  a  line  of  the  old  ballad,  ^  Johnny 
Armstrong's  Last  Good  Night.' 

*  And  ran  him  throng^h  the  fair  body  I' 

• 

<'  We  returned  to  my  house,  where  there  met  him,  at 
dinner,  the  Duchess  of  Douglas,  Sir  Adolphus  Oughton, 
Lord  Chief  Baron,  Sir  William  Forbes,  Principal  Robert- 
son, Mr.  Cullen,  advocate* 

^'We  gave  him  as  good  a  dinner  as  we  could.  Our 
Scotch  muir-fowl,  or  grouse,  were  then  abundant,  and  quite 
in  season ;  and,  so  far  as  wisdom  and  wit  can  be  aided  by 
administering  agreeable  sensations  to  the  palate,  my  wife 
took  care  that  our  great  guest  should  not  be  deficient.*^ 

Leith  Walk,  the  high  road  between  Edinburgh 
and  Leith,  was  formed  in  1774. 


Biogtofi^it  VotUt  of  ffoitaii  SmoOett 

Tobias  Smollett  was  bom  at  Dalquham,  Dum- 
bartonshire, 1721.     He  studied  medicine  at  Glas- 
gow, and  was  surgeon's  mate  in  a  ship  of  war  in  the  expe- 
dition to  Carthagena  in  1741.    Seven  years  after  he  produced 


17T4.  AKKAUS.  247 

his  '  Boderick  Random/  and  in  1751  *  Peregrine  Pickle/ 
and  two  years  subseqaently  ^  Count  Fathom.'  He  pub* 
lished  a  translation  of  Don  Quixote  in  1755,  and  aoon  after 
^nsited  his  sister  Mrs.  Telfer  at  her  estate  of  Scotstown,  in 
Peebles-ehire.  The  following  year  he  oommenced  and  edit^ 
ed  the  *  Critical  Review,'  in  London.  His  '  History  of 
England '  from  the  descent  of  Julius  Csesar,  to  the  treaty 
of  Aix4arChapelle,  was  published  in  4  vols.  4to.,  in  1758. 
He  wrote  ^  Sir  Laancelot  Greaves/  when  confined  in  the 
King's  Bench  prison.  His  *  Travels  through  France  and 
Italy '  took  place  in  17(>8.  He  visited  Edinburgh  in  infirm 
health  in  June,  1766,  when  he  resided  with  his  mother  and 
sister  in  tlie  first  floor  of  the  house  at  the  west  side  of  the 
liead  of  St  John  Street,  Canongate, — ^the  new  street  now 
bearing  that  name  being  then  only  in  process  of  erection. 
Here  he  stored  some  of  those  humorous  anecdotes  and 
scenes,  which  he  afterwards  portrayed  in  his  ^  Humphrey 
Clinker/  published  in  1771.  Smollett  died  at  Leghorn, 
1774. 

iStograii^it  Kottce  ot  itobrrt  iFnrgttftMtu 

Robert  Fergusson,  the  Scottish  poet,  was  born  at 
Edinburgh,  5th  September,  1751,  and  was  educated 
at  the  High  School  there  and  at  tlie  University  of  St.  An- 
drew's. He  afterwards  became  a  clerk  in  the  Commissan^'s 
Office,  Edinburgh.  His  poetical  lucubrations  first  appeared 
in  Ruddiman's  Weekly  Magazine.  His  poem  of  the  Far- 
mer's Ingle  has  generally  been  considered  the  prototype  of 
Bums'  Cottar's  Saturday  Night. 

Edinburgh  and  its  localities  and  customs,  form  a  pro- 
minent subject  of  many  of  his  poems,  such  as  '  Hallowfair,' 
<The  Tron  Kirk  Bell/  and  'Auld  Reekie.'  His  mental 
powers  became  weakened,  and  he  died  at  Edinburgh, 
16th  October,  1774,  and  was  buried  in  the  Canongate 
churchyard,  where  Robert  Bums,  in  sympathy  with   his 


248  HISTOBY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

poetical  geniufly  erected  a  simple  monument  to  his  memory 
with  the  inscription : 

**  No  scolptar'd  marble  here,  nor  pompons  lay ! 
No  storied  nm,  nor  animated  boitt 
This  simple  stone  directs  pale  Scotia's  way, 
To  poor  her  sorrows  o'er  her  poet's  dnst." 


Biogtapi^ic  Notice  of  ts^oman  efUtnpit. 

Thomas  Gillespie,  the  founder  of  the  Belief  Church 

17T4. 

of  Scotland,  was  bom  in  1708,  at  a  very  pleasant 
and  beautiful  locality,  little  more  than  a  mile  south  from 
Edinbui^h,  in  the  parish  of  Duddingston,  called  Clearbum. 
His  father  was  a  farmer  and  brewer  there.  Thomas  Gilles- 
pie studied  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh  for  several  years. 
His  mother  introduced  him  early  in  life  to  the  celebrated 
Thomas  Boston,  the  minister  of  Ettrick,  author  of  the  Four- 
fold State,  and  it  was  believed  he  was  the  means  of  making 
the  first  deep  religious  impressions  on  his  mind.  He  resided 
with  Dr.  Doddridge,  the  author  of  the  ^  Rise  and  Progress 
of  Religion  in  the  Soul,'  at  Northampton  for  some  time, 
with  whom  he  was  a  great  favourite,  and  in  1741  he  was 
ordained  minister  of  Camock,  where  he  wrote  the  work 
entided  ^  Treatise  on  Temptation.' 

Patronage  in  the  Church  of  Scotland  had  been  abolished 
after  the  revolution  in  1690,  but  was  restored  by  an  act 
of  Parliament,  hurriedly  passed  in  1712,  against  which  the 
Church  of  Scotiand  protested,  but  gradually  cases  of  intru^ 
aion  of  ministers  against  the  will  of  congregations  were 
perpetrated,  and  the  case  of  a  forced  settiement  in  1752, 
at  Inverkeithing,  in  which  he  refused  to  join,  led  to  the 
deposition  of  Gillespie.     He  received  his  sentence  meekly, 
and  quietly  obeyed  it,  preaching  in  the  open  air  for  some 
time  thereafter.    The  Relief  Synod  arose  out  of  these  pro- 
ceedings, but  was  not  formed  till  1761.     Gillespie  after- 
wards became  a  minister  of  Dunfermline,  and  died  in  1774. 


1776.  AKNAL8.  249 

Peter  Williamson,  who  kept  a  Coffee-house  in 

1776. 

the  Parliament  Square,  established  the  first  penny 
post  office  in  1776,  and  in  the  following  year,  published 
the  first  Edinburgh  Directory,  a  work  including  the  names 
of  all  the  respectable  householders  in  the  city. 

On  25th  August,  1776,  the  Lord  Provost  Stodart,  laid 
the  foundation-stone  of  a  building  on  the  Calton  Hill,  for 
an  Astronomical  Observatory.  The  design  was  prepared 
by  James  Craig,  the  architect  of  the  New  Town,  but  the 
celebrated  Adam,  happening  to  visit  Edinburgh  soon  afier, 
was  struck  with  the  idea  that  the  appearance  of  a  fortification 
might  with  great  and  picturesque  effect  be  given  to  the 
whole,  and  according]}^  he  marked  out  a  wall  with  but- 
tresses, embrasures  and  Gothic  towers,  but  this  design  was 
only  very  partially  executed,  the  result  being  the  old  building 
which  is  still  existing  at  the  comer  of  the  buttressed  wall, 
long  used  for  a  Camera  Obseura^  and  now  for  a  self-regis- 
tering anemometer  in  connexion  with  the  Royal  Observa- 
tory of  Edinburgh. 

Biograp^u  Kotice  of  gamtn  ffetsriMtL 

James  Ferccuson,  the  celebrated  astronomer,  was  a 

1776  c  '  ' 

self-taught  genius,  bom  at  Keith  in  Banffshire,  1710. 
When  a  shepherd  boy,  at  night  he  would  study  from  nature 
the  mysterious  and  splendid  frame  of  the  heavens.  Two 
large  stones  on  the  top  of  Sir  James  Dunbar  s  gate,  he  made 
to  represent  the  terrestrial  and  celestial  globes.  Lady  Dip- 
pie,  the  sister  of  Sir  James,  was  very  kind  to  Ferguson,  who 
resided  two  years  in  her  house  in  Edinburgh,  where  he 
copied  drawings,  and  tried  to  paint  in  oil  colours.  He  was 
introduced  to  Lady  Jane  Douglas,  whose  name  became  so 
famous  in  the  Douglas  cause.  Both  she  and  the  Marchioness 
of  Douglas  her  mother  sat  to  him  for  their  portraits  at  Mer- 
chiston  Castle,  near  Edinburgh,  where  they  were  then  re- 
siding. *  He  afterwai*ds  resided  in  London,  and  delivered 


250  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBQH. 

lectures  on  astroaomj.  George  III.  attended  some  of  these, 
and  cnltiyated  his  personal  acquaintance.  Fergnson  died 
16th  November,  1776, 

Bfogtaylic  Vctin  of  SabtD  Itwnt.  ^ 

David  Hume,  the  historian,  was  bom  in  Edin- 
burgh, 26th  April,  1711.  He  was  a  man  of  great 
talents,  but  unfortunately  became  sceptical  in  his  religious 
views,  so  that  his  works  require  to  be  read  guardedly.  He 
was  originally  intended  for  the  legal  profession,  then  adopted 
tlie  mercantile,  and  afterwards  literature  became  his  pursuit. 
His  ^Treatise  on  Human  Nature'  appeared  in  173^,  his 
Essays  four  years  afterwards;  and  the  first  volume  of  his 
^  History  of  England '  in  1754.  He  completed  that  work  in 
1761. 

Hume  was  at  different  periods  of  his  life  attached  to 
British  embassies  on  the  Continent,  and  in  1767  he  was 
under-secretary  of  State.  In  Edinburgh  he  resided  at  one 
time  in  James*  Court.  It  was  when  there,  the  incident  was 
said  to  have  occurred,  on  a  letter  being  left  for  him  one  morn- 
ing by  the  postman,  addressed  ^^  Mr.  Hume  the  Deist,"  he  dis- 
claimed the  title,  and  desired  it  to  be  taken  to  his  neighbour, 
Henry  Home,  better  known  as  Lord  Karnes.  He  removed 
fix>m  that  residence  to  the  comer  house  of  St.  David  Street, 
in  the  New  town,  where  he  died  25th  August,  1776. 

The  foundation  of  the  building  so  long  used  as  the 
High  School  of  Edinburgh,  at  the  foot  of  Infirmary 
Street,  near  the  spot  where  the  old  Monastery  of  Blackfriars 
stood,  was  laid  by  Sir  William  Forbes,  24th  June,  1777. 
With  this  academy  and  the  High  School  Yards  adjoining, 
are  associated  many  of  the  early  recollections  of  numerous 
citizens  of  Edinburgh,  who  received  their  first  lessons  in 
Greek  and  Roman  literature  within  their  precincts.  The  still 
earlier  High  School  of  Edinburgh  was  a  small  building  which 


1779.  ANKALS.  251 

Stood  in  the  same  locality,  but  was  now  found  too  limited 
for  the  supply  of  pupils. 

In  1778,  there  was  a  mutiny  of  the  Earl  of  Sea^ 
forth's  Highland  regiment,  then  quartered  in  the 
Castle.  The  regiment  had  been  ordered  fof  embarkation  to 
India,  but  refused  to  set  out  on  account  of  their  pay  being  in 
arrear,  and  took  possession  of  the  neighbonring  hill  of  Ar- 
thur's Seat,  where  they  posted  themselves  for  two  days. 
Troops  were  collected,  and  other  preparations  taken  to  pre- 
vent their  escape,  but  the  affair  was  fortunately  arranged 
without  bloodshed,  they  returning  to  allegiance  and  embark- 
ing for  their  destination, — ^tbe  affiEdr  caused  considerable 
alarm  in  the  dty. 

The  same  year,  1778,  the  dty  raised  a  regiment  of  one 
thousand  men  in  aid  of  government,  then  engaged  in  the 
unfortunate  war  v:\th  the  American  colonies. 

The  Mirror  Club  was  established  in  Edinburgh, 
by  some  literary  lawyers,  as  a  relaxation  from  their 
severer  studies;  ihey  reading  essays  in  Belles  Lettres  at  their 
weekly  meetings.  The  Mirrory  an  Edinburgh  periodical  in 
the  style  of  the  Spectator,  arose  out  of  this  association.  It 
commenced  January  1779,  and  continued  till  May  1780. 
The  principal  contributors  were  Henry  Mackenzie,  the  au- 
thor of  the  ^  Man  of  Feeling,*  and  several  gentlemen  after- 
wards judges  of  the  Court  of  Session,  Lord  Craig,  Lord 
Abercromby,  Lord  Cullen,  and  Lord  Bannatyne.  The 
Mirror  was  published  weekly,  on  a  small  folio  sheet,  price 
three  half-pence.  It  will  be  thus  seen  that  it  was  in  several 
respects  the  prototype  of  Chambers'  Edinburgh  Journal, 
which  was  not  published  till  half  a  century  afterwards. 

About  a  year  prior  to  the  Lord  George  Grordon  riots  in 
London,  a  similar  disposition  was  manifest^  in  Edinburgh. 
It  was  at  a  time  when  it  was  proposed  to  repeal  the  penal 
laws  against  Popery. 

On  the  night  of  2d  February,  1779,  a  mob  collected  in 
the  Old  town,  and  proceeded  to   bum  a  Popish  priest's 


252  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGtt 

residence  at  the  foot  of  Trunk's  Close,  in  the  High  Street, 
near  the  Fountain  WeU,  and  they  also  demolished  a 
Romanist  chapel  in  Blackfiriars  Wynd,  burning  the  omar 
ments  and  utensils  employed  in  their  ritual.  The  infuriated 
populace  proceeded  to  the  University^  to  destroy  the  house 
of  Principal  Robeistson,  who  was  deemed  &yourable  to  the 
abolition  of  those  penal  laws,  but  the  calm  expostulations  of 
his  colleague  Dr.  Erskine,  induced  them  to  desist  from  their 
intended  violence.  Fortunately  those  days  of  physical  force 
are  now  gone,  and  moral  force  and -argument  alone  are 
used  against  the  errors  of  Popery. 

In  April,  1779,  a  mutiny  of  a  few  Highland  recruits,  be* 
longing  to  a  West  Highland  regiment,  quartered  at  Edin- 
burgh Castle,  took  place  at  Leith.  The  mutineers  were  tried 
by  a  Court  Martial;  four  of  them  punished,  and  the  re- 
mainder were  marched  prisoners  to  Edinburgh  Castle. 

Another  alarm  occurred  in  Edinburgh  the  same  year 
from  Paul  Jones,  a  Scotsman,  then  in  the  French  service, 
who  sailed  up  the  Firth  of  Forth  with  three  vessels  of  war 
under  his  command,  and  appeared  near  Inchkeith,  17th  Sep* 
tember,  1779,  with  the  alleged  intention  of  burning  the  ship- 
ping at  Leith.  Some  batteries  were  hastily  erected  for  de- 
fence against  him,  but  he  was  driven  off  by  contrary  winds. 
This  occiurrence  led  soon  afl;er  to  the  erection  of  Leith  ibrt 
as  a  station  for  artillery. 

In  1779,  several  large  fleets  put  in  to  the  Firth  of  Forth, 
near  the  city,  in  want  of  provisions.  They  amounted  to  nearly 
five  hundred  sail  with  20,000  men  on  board;  so  plentiful 
was  the  supply  of  provisions  in  the  city  markets,  that  even 
this  greatly  increased  demand  made  no  perceptible  increase 
in  the  price  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  insomuch  that  several 
victualling  ships  sent  down  by  the  navy  board,  returned 
without  opening  their  stores. 


1782.  ANNAL&  253 


Biograii^ic  Xoticc  of  Sit  I^Aormtt  IBntiluiK. 


Sir  Lawrence  Dondas,  the  lineal  ancestor  of  the 

1781. 

present  Earl  of  Zetland,  was  the  son  of  Thomas 


Bandas,  a  respectable  citizen^  one  of  the  Magistrates  of 
Edinburgh.  Sir  Lawrence  acquired  his  large  fortune  as 
a  Ck)xnimssary  General  in  the  army.  Dundas  was  created 
a  baronet  in  1762.  Be  was  elected  Member  of  Parliament 
for  Edinburgh  in  1768.  In  1774,  considerable  opposition 
was  shown  to  his  re-election  on  various  grounds,  but  he  was 
again  returned,  and  in  1780  he  was  opposed  by  Mr.  Miller, 
afterwards  Lord  Glenlee,  but  though  his  opponent  was  re- 
turned and  took  his  place  as  member  for  Edinburgh,  Sir 
Lawrence  succeeded  in  unseating  him  before  an  election 
committee. 

Sir  Lawrence  Dundas  built  for  his  city  residence,  the 
elegant  mansion  in  St.  Andrew's  Square,  afterwards  occu- 
pied as  the  Excise  OfSce,  and  now  by  the  Royal  Bank. 
Sir  Lawrence  Dundas  died  in  1781. 


jlotice  of  Sbtr  Sfa^n  9rtngU« 


Sir  John  Pringle,  an  eminent  Edinburgh  phy- 
sician, was  bom  in  Roxburghshire,  in  1707.  He 
studied  medicine  in  Edinburgli  in  1727,  and  in  1734  was 
appointed  to  the  Moral  Philosopliy  chair  in  the  University 
of  Edinburgh,  an  office  he  held  for  about  ten  years.  He 
afterwards  attained  eminence  in  London,  and  was  President 
of  the  Royal  Society.  His  work  on  the  '  Diseases  of  the 
Army '  was  published  in  1752.  Again  in  1780  he  resided  in 
Eklinburgh,  and  he  presented  the  Edinburgh  Medical  Col- 
lege ten  folio  MS.  volumes  of  Medical  and  Physical  Essays, 
on  condition  that  they  should  never  be  published  or  lent  out 
of  the  library.     He  died  in  1782. 


254  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

Btogtaylitc  Xotire  of  JTofpn  Btatr. 

Joha  Blairi  LLJD.,  was  bom  in  Edinburgh  in 
the  earlj  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  He 
there  received  a  theological  education,  but  proceeded  to 
London,  and  in  1754,  brought  out  his  ^  Chronology  and 
History  of  the  World '  in  a  folio  volume.  It  is  alleged  that 
the  plan  of  this  work  was  suggested  to  him  by  his  relative, 
Dr.  Hugh  Blair.  He  was  afterwards  appointed  tutor  to  the 
Duke  of  York,  brother  of  George  m.,  and  travelled  with 
him  on  the  Continent.  Blair  was  appointed  dean  of  St. 
Brides,  Fleet  Street,  London,  in  1771,  and  five  years  after- 
wards rector  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  Westminster. 
He  died  24th  June,  1782. 


BCograyi^tr  fi^titt  of  Htnts  l^onte,  l^itO  Itameiu 

Henry  Home,  Lord  Karnes,  for  a  long  time  a 
noted  citizen  of  Edinburgh,  died  at  his  house  at 
the  bead  of  New  Street,  Canongate,  27th  December, 
1782.  He  was  bom  in  1696,  and  served  an  apprenticeship 
with  a  writer  to  the  signet,  and  afterwards  passed  Advocate. 
In  1752,  he  was  appointed  a  judge  in  the  Supreme  Court, 
and  took  the  designation  of  Lord  Kames.  His  '  Elements  of 
Criticism '  were  published  in  1762,  and  his  '  Sketches  of  the 
History  of  Man,' in  1774. 

Lord  Kames  resided  for  many  years  during  the  summer, 
at  Blair-Drummond,  where  he  engaged  eictensively  in  agri- 
cultural improvements.  In  personal  appearance  he  was  a 
tall,  lean  figure,  and  though  ftdl  of  oddities  was  much  re- 
spected in  Edinburgh  as  a  literary  and  benevolent  chai*acter. 

One  of  his  quaint  remarks  was  that  he  had  always  been 
busily  employed  in  this  sublunary  world,  and  he  was  anxious 
to  know  how  he  would  be  occupied  in  a  future  state  of  ex- 
istence. 


1783.  ANNAL8.  255 

The  PhiloeophicAl  Societv^  conssting  of  the  most 
distingaished  medical  and  literaiy  men  in  Edin- 
burgh, was  formed  about  the  year  1750.  Lord  Karnes  was 
president,  David  Hame,  secretary  for  the  literaiy  or  philo- 
sophic department,  and  the  two  Monros  snccessivelj  o£Sciated 
as  secretaries  for  the  medical  division.  This  society  pub- 
lished three  volumes  of  Essays  and  Transactions.  The  last 
appeared  in  1771.  Soon  after,  the  plan  was  adopted  of 
placing  this  society  on  a  much  more  enlarged  basis,  to  com- 
prise medical  and  physical  science  with  every  depaitment  of 
literary  and  philosophical  discussion.  Dr.  Robertson,  the 
historian  and  Principal  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh, 
took  an  active  part  in  tliese  negotiations,  and  the  result  was 
the  formation  of  the  Royal  Societt  of  Edinbxjbgh, 
which  was  incorporated  by  royal  charter  in  1783,  and  has 
ever  since  maintained  a  distinguished  name.  They  pub- 
lished the  first  volume  of  their  Transactions  five  years  after. 
The    Earthen    Mound,  another  communication 

1788. 

firom  the  Old  to  the  New  town,  was  commenced  in 
1783,  and  was  formed  principally  of  the  earth  from  the 
foundations  of  the  new  houses.  It  has  been  calculated  that 
nearly  a  milUon  and  a  half  cart-loads  were  laid  on  it,  which 
at  a  moderate  computation,  would  have  amounted  to  up- 
wards of  £30,000.  The  massive  large  pile  of  old  building, 
ten  stories  high,  near  the  head,  fonning  the  northern  side 
of  James'  Court,  was  erected  in  1727,  and  has  acquired 
considerable  celebrity  from  some  of  its  houses  having  formed 
the  residence  of  several  distinguished  literary  men,  Henr}* 
Home,  Lord  £ames,  David  Hume;  James  Boswell,  of 
Auchinleck,  Johnson's  friend  and  biographer. 

Stograiifpit  fiMitt  of  SlUn  ISUuiims. 

Allan   Ramsay,  an  eminent  portrait  painter  in 

Edinburgh,  was  bom  there  1713,  and  was  the  son 

of  his  more  distinguished  namesake,  the  author  of  the  Gentle 


256  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUSOa 

Shepherd.  He  founded  the  Select  Society  of  Edinburgh 
in  1754,  which  consisted  of  the  most  learned  men  of  that 
period  in  the  capital  of  Scotland.  ^  Ramsay  was  the  author  of 
^  The  Investigator/  a  volume  of  Essays.  He  married  the 
eldest  daughter  of  Sir  Alexander  Lindsay,  Bart.,  of  Evelick, 
a  niece  of  the  Earl  of  Mansfield.  Ramsay  died  in  1784. 
His  son  John  became  a  General  in  tlie  British  army,  and  at 
his  death  the  poet's  house,  and  all  the  property  at  Ramsay 
Gardens,  Castle-hill,  were  inherited  by  die  Murrays  of  Hen- 
derland. 

fiiograplu  Xottte  of  naixanStv  lEBUbnttv. 

Dr.  Alexander  Webster,  a  rathei*  celebrated  Edin- 

1784< 

burgh  clergyman,  was  bom  in  1707,  and  after  being 
some  year's  minister  of  Culross  in  Fife,  was  appointed  min- 
ister of  the  Tolbooth  Church,  Edinburgh,  in  1737.  He  was 
the  originator  of  the  fund  for  the  widows  of  the  clergy  of 
the  Church  of  Scotland.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable 
benevolence  and  generosity,  and  was  long  a  public  character 
in  the  city.     He  died  in  1784. 

On  first  August,  1785,  the  foundation  of  a  bridge 
across  the  Cowgate,  in  a  line  direct  with  the  North 
Bridge,  consequently  designated  the  South  Bridge,  was 
laid ;  Merlin's  Wynd  was  removed  to  make  way  for  it,  and  sites 
for  houses  and  shops  were  sold  at  unprecedentedly  high  rates; 
one  arch  only  of  the  bridge  being  left  open.  The  South 
Bridge  was  opened  to  the  public  in  March  1788.  Its 
erection  cost  £15,000.  The  new  building  areas  on  it  were 
sold  for  upwards  of  £80,000;  the  purchase  of  the  old  build- 
ings to  clear  the  way  for  the  bridge,  cost  above  £50,000. 

The  Highland  Society  of  Scotland  was  established  in  Ed- 
inbnrgh  in  1785.  Its  great  object  was  to  promote  improve- 
ments throughout  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  but  it  subse- 
quently extended  its  sphere  of  action  through  all  Scot- 


1785.  AKKAL&  257 

land,  by  aiding  in  the  improvement  of  agriculture  in  every 
district  of  the  country,  and  by  offering  premiums  for  essays 
and  useful  inventions.  This  body  is  now  designated  the 
Highland  and  Agricultural  Society  of  Scotland,  and  poA- 
sesses  a  very  extensive  Agricultural  Museum  at  Greox^ 
IV.'s  Bridge. 


William  Strahan,  the  distinguished  printer,  was 
bom  in  Edinburgh  1715,  and  served  his  apprentice- 
ship there.  He  then  went  to  London  and  worked  in  the 
same  office  with  the  celebrated  Franklin.  In  1770,  he  be- 
came a  partner  with  Mr.  Eyre  as  King's  Printer,  acquired 
wealth,  and  juiiied  Mr.  CadeU  in  purchasing  the  copyrights 
of  many  eminent  authors.  He  sat  in  Parliament  in  1775 
for  Malmesbuxy,  '^'ith  Fox  as  his  colleague.  He  was  one 
of  the  contributors  to  the  Mirror.  His  history  is  a  good 
specimen  of  a  man  being  the  architect  of  his  own  fortune, 
acting  on  the  Yankee  principle,  '^  if  you  would  succeed  in 
life,  learn  to  paddle  your  own  canoe.'*     He  died  in  1785. 


Kotite  of  Sir  flltxanBer  Oictu 


Sij"  Alexander  Dick,  Bart.,  of  Prestonfield,  a  beau- 

1785. 

tiful  estate  lying  a  mile  to  the  south  of  Edinburgh, 

was  bom  in  1703.     He  studied  for  the  medical  profession 

at  Edinburgh  and  Leyden.     He  became  a  member  of  the 

Royal  College  of  Physicians  of  Edinburgh  in  1727,  and  was 

chosen  President  of  that  body  in  1756,  an  honour  continued 

to  him  for  seven  successive  elections.     From  the  period  of 

succeeding  to  the   baronetcy,  he  resided  at   Prestonfield. 

He  took  an  active  part  in  every  public  undertaking  for  the 

benefit  of  the  cit},  and  got  great  improvements  effected  in 

the  roads  around  Edinburgh.     He  died  1785. 

n 


258  mSTOBT  OF  edinbubgh. 

Bfograyltt  fLotin  of  dHhtxt  Sturt 

Dr.  Gilbert  Stoart  was  bom  in  Edinburgh,  1742, 
and  educated  at  the  University  there.  He  relin- 
quished the  study  of  law  for  literature.  His  first  work  ca 
the  *  Antiquity  of  the  English  Constitution '  gained  him 
the  degree  of  LL.D.  In  1773  he  commenced  the  JStdm* 
burgh  Magazine  and  Beviewy  but  it  was  thought  too  virulent 
in  its  critidsmsi  and  was  dropped  in  1776.  His  ^  View 
of  Society  in  Europe'  appeared  two  years  after,  and  in 
1780;  his  ^History  of  the  Reformation  in  Scotland,'  and 
his  'EUstory  of  Scotland  from  the  Establishment  of  the 
Reformation  to  the  death  of  Queen  ^larv,'  in  1782.  He 
died  at  Mosselburgb,  near  Edinburgh,  in  1786. 

Biograq^tt  Votitt  of  l^o  eUxunct^. 

Wilhelmina  Campbell,  Lady  Glenorchy,  was  bom 
1741.  She  was  the  daughter  of  William  Maxwell, 
Esq.,  of  Preston,  and  married  John  Viscount  Glenorchy. 
He  purchased  the  estate  of  Bamton,  near  Edinburgh,  where 
they  resided  a  considerable  period.  Lady  Glenorchy  first 
rented  in  1770  St.  Mary's  Chapel,  Niddry's  Wynd,  Edin- 
burgh, for  ministers  of  every  evangelical  persuasion  to  preach 
in,  and  then  bnilt  a  chapel  in  the  park  of  the  Orphan's  Hos- 
pital, known  by  the  name  of  Lady  Glenorchy's  Chapel, 
in  1774.  Lady  Glenorchy  died  in  1786.  The  old  chapel 
was  pulled  down  in  1845,  and  a  new  one  under  the  same 
designation  in  connexion  with  the  Free  Chorch,  was  built 
opposite  Picardy  Place,  at  the  head  of  Leith  Walk. 

Btograpltc  Xottce  of  Wtuqn  ftmot 

Hugo  Arnot  was  one  of  the  literary  characters  of 

Edinburgh  in  his  day.     He  was  bom  at  Leith  in 

1749,  and  became  an  advocate  in  1772.     His  ^  History  of 


1786.  ANKAL6.  259 

Edinburgh'  appeared  1779,  and  though  tedious  and  prolix, 
and  one-sided  in  many  of  his  views  of  public  affairs,  it  is  still 
a  work  of  considerable  authority.  His  CoUection  of  Crimi* 
nal  Trials  was  published  in  1785. 

Amot  was  full  of  eccentiicities,  and  possessed  sharp  wit 
and  humour.  His  person  was  thin  in  the  extreme,  which 
gave  rise  to  the  bon  mot  of  Henry  Erskine,  who,  encoun- 
tering him  eating  a  dried  haddock  or  spelding,  remarked 
that  he  was  veiy  like  his  meat.     Hugo  Amot  died  in  1786. 

In  the  year  1786,  there  came  to  Edinburgh  one 
of  nature's  most  highly  gifted  sons — ^Robert  Bums, 
ari  Ayrshire  peasant,  who,  after  a  good  homely  Scottish 
education,  in  the  words  of  another  great  poet: — 

"  Walked  with  glory  aad  with  joy 
Bende  hit  plough  upon  the  monntun  Bide."t 

'  Poeta  nascitur,  non  fit ' — ^he  had  published  at  the  pro- 
vincial town  of  Ealmamock,  daring  the  previous  year,  a 
volume  of  poems  which  astonished  his  countrymen. 

Tliis  volume  contained  the  '  Cottar's  Saturday  Kight,' 
and  other  productions  which  have  married  to  immortal  verse 
the  name  of  this  peasant  boy, — and  with  his  subsequent 
Irrics,  given  it  a  place  vrith  those  of  Homer,  Shakspeare, 
Milton,  and  the  greatest  poets  of  the  world. 

Having  met  with  Professor  Dugald  Stewart,  then  one  of 
the  leading  literary  celebrities  of  Edinburgh,  Burns  was  in* 
duced  to  set  out  on  a  visit  to  the  Scottish  capital,  where  he 
arrived  on  the  28th  November  the  same  vear,  and  shared 
with  an  acquaintance,  John  Richmond,  a  writer's  clerk,  a 
himible  lodging  room  in  Baxter^s  Close,  Lawnmarket,  of 
which  the  weekly  rent  was  three  shillings  sterling.     Allan 

•  Bom  1759— Died  1790.  t  Wordsworth. 


260  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

Cunningham  depicts  him  as  then  wandering  aboat  the  town, 
looking  down  from  Arthur's  Seat  upon  the  ancient  Palace 
of  Holjrood,  and  at  such  a  moment  Bums  might  naturally 
exclaim  in  Iiis  own  words,  so  often  afterwards  quoted: 

''  Edina,  Scotia's  darUng  seat  I 
Ail  hail  thy  palaces  and  towers 
Where  once  beneath  a  monarch's  feet 
Sat  legislation's  sorereign  powers." 

In  the  Scottish  capital  Bums  was  introduced  to  Henry 
Erskine,  Dean  of  the  Faculty  of  Advocates,  to  Henry  ^fac- 
kenzie,  the  author  of  the  ^  Man  of  Feeling/  Robertson  the 
historian,  Dr.  Hugh  Blair,  Dr.  Gregory,  Dr.  Adam  Fer- 
guson, Lord  Monboddo,  William  Creech,  and  a  whole  galaxy 
of  literary  men,  who  were  then  distinguished  in  Edinburgh, 
and  his  company  was  generally  courted.  This  was  a  dan- 
gerous position  for  the  young  Ayrshire  bard,  leading  him 
into  convivial  society  in  a  way  which  perhaps  few  could  have 
stood,  and  from  which  he  himself  came  out  any  thing  but 
unscathed^  But  literary  and  poetical  pursuits  were  his 
natural  taste,  and  he  now  sought  out  the  house  near  the 
Castle  Hill,  of  his  poetical  predecessor,  Allan  Ramsay,  and 
wended  his  way  to  the  grave  of  his  other  Scottish  brother 
poet,  Robert  Fergusson,  in  the  Canongate  churchyard. 

Francis  Jeffrey,  a  boy  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  his  age,  was 
then  one  day  standing  in  the  High  Street,  staring  at  a  man 
whose  appearance  had  struck  him  as  remarkable,  when  a 
person  tapped  him  on  the  shoulder,  and  said,  "Ay,  laddie! 
ve  may  weel  look  at  that  man!  That's  Robert  Bums."* 
Little  could  Jeffrey  then  imagine  that  he  was  to  become 
the  first  of  British  critics,  and  the  man  he  gazed  at  the  first 
of  Scottish  poets. 

At  this  period,  Sir  Walter  Scott  was  a  boy  of  sixteen. 
He  had  read  the  poetry  of  Bums,  and  was  most  anxious  to 
see  him.     These  two  distinguished  Scotsmen  met  the  only 

•  Cockburn's  Life  of  Jcflfrev. 


262  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBQH. 

pression  of  sense  and  shrewdness  in  all  his  lineaments:  the 
eye  alone,  I  think,  indicated  the  poetical  character  and 
temperament.  It  was  large,  and  of  a  cast  which  glowed,  I 
say  literally  glowed;  when  he  spoke  with  feeling  or  interest. 
I  never  saw  such  another  eye  in  a  Imman  h^ul,  though  I 
have  seen  the  most  distinguished  men  of  my  time.  His 
conversation  expressed  perfect  self-confidence,  without  the 
slightest  presumption.  Among  the  men  who  were  the  most 
learned  of  their  time  and  country,  he  expressed  himself  with 
perfect  firmness,  but  without  the  least  intrusive  forwardness; 
and  when  he  differed  in  opinion,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  ex- 
press it  firmly,  yet  at  the  same  time  with  modesty.  I  have 
only  to  add  that  his  dress  corresponded  with  his  manner. 
He  was  like  a  farmer  dressed  in  his  best  to  dine  with  the 
laird." 

In  the  following  year,  1787,  Bums  visited  Edin- 
burgh again,  when  he  resided  with  Mr.  William 
Cruikshank,  one  of  the  teachers  in  the  High  School,  at  his 
house,  now  No.  30  James's  Square. 

It  was  during  his  first  visit  to  the  Scottish  metropolis, 
that  Bums  brought  out  with  Creech,  the  well  knovin  pub- 
lisher, the  second  edition  of  his  poems,  and  he  soon  after 
began  to  furnish  Johnson,  an  Edinburgh  engraver  of  con- 
siderable literary  taste,  for  his  Scots  Musical  Museum^  witli 
some  of  those  beautiful  lyrics  which,  along  with  those  that 
he  sent  to  George  Thomson  at  a  later  period,  have  become 
as  it  were  household  words  throughout  Scotland. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  original  document  of  agree- 
ment between  Bums  and  Creech,  for  the  copyright  of  his 
Poems.  It  will  be  seen  fix>m  it  that  Henry  Mackenzie,  the 
author  of  the  '  Man  of  Feeling,'  was  the  mediating  friend  on 
the  occasion,  and  the  Memorandum  is  interesting  as  con- 
nected with  the  life  of  Bums  during  his  visit  to  Auld  Reekie, 
and  with  the  literary  history  of  Edinburgh  at  that  period, 
although  reading  in  it  of  Mr.  Bumsy  approximates  some- 
what with  the  idea  of  reading  of  Mr.  Julius  Ccesar. 


262  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

pression  of  sense  and  shrewdness  in  ail  his  lineaments:  the 
eye  alone,  I  think,  indicated  the  poetical  character  and 
temperament.  It  was  large,  and  of  a  cast  which  glowed,  I 
say  literally  glowed;  when  he  spoke  with  feeling  or  interest. 
I  never  saw  such  another  eye  in  a  human  head,  though  I 
have  seen  the  most  distinguished  men  of  my  time.  EUs 
conversation  expressed  perfect  self-confidence,  without  the 
slightest  presumption.  Among  the  men  who  were  the  most 
learned  of  their  time  and  country,  he  expressed  himself  with 
perfect  firmness,  but  without  the  least  intrusive  forwardness; 
and  when  he  difiered  in  opinion,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  ex- 
press it  firmly,  yet  at  the  same  time  with  modesty.  I  have 
only  to  add  that  his  dress  corresponded  with  his  manner. 
He  was  like  a  farmer  dressed  in  his  best  to  dine  with  the 
laird.'' 

In  the  following  year,  1787,  Bums  visited  Edin- 
burgh again,  when  he  resided  with  Mr.  William 
Cruikshank,  one  of  the  teaciiers  in  the  High  School,  at  his 
house,  now  No.  30  James's  Square. 

It  was  during  his  first  visit  to  the  Scottish  metropolis, 
that  Bums  brought  out  with  Creech,  the  well  known  pub- 
lisher, tlie  second  edition  of  his  poems,  and  he  soon  after 
began  to  fturnish  Johnson,  an  Edinburgh  engraver  of  con- 
siderable literary  taste,  for  his  Scots  Musical  Museum^  with 
some  of  those  beautiful  lyrics  which,  along  with  those  that 
he  sent  to  George  Thomson  at  a  later  period,  have  become 
as  it  were  household  words  throughout  Scotland. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  original  document  of  agree- 
ment between  Bums  and  Creech,  for  the  copyright  of  his 
Poems.  It  will  be  seen  fi:om  it  that  Henry  Mackenzie,  the 
author  of  the  ^  Man  of  Feeling,'  was  the  mediating  friend  on 
the  occasion,  and  the  Memorandum  is  interesting  as  con- 
nected with  the  life  of  Bums  during  his  visit  to  Auld  Reekie, 
and  with  the  literary  history  of  Edinburgh  at  that  period, 
although  reading  in  it  of  Mr.  Bumsy  approximates  some- 
what with  the  idea  of  reading  of  Mr,  Julius  Ccssar. 


1787.  ANNALS.  263 

<*  MBMOBANDUM   OF  AGBXEKENT  BETWIXT  MR.  OBJBBCH  AKD   liB. 
BXJBN8,  BBSPBCTZNa  THE  PBOPEETT  OF  MB.  BUBNS'B  POXMft. 

"  Bt  advice  of  friends,  Mr.  Burns  having  resolved  to  dispoee  of  the 
property  of  his  poems,  and  having  consulted  with  Mr.  Henry 
M'Kenne  upon  the  subject,  Mr.  Creech  met  with  Mr.  Bums  at 
Mr.  M'Kenne's  house  upon  Tuesday  the  17th  April,  1787,  in  the 
evening,  and  they  three  having  retired  and  conversed  upon  the 
subject,  Mr.  Bums  and  Mr.  Creech  referred  the  sum  to  be  named 
by  Mr.  M'Eenzie,  as  being  well  acquainted  with  matters  of  this 
kind,  when  Mr.  M'Kenue  said  he  thought  Mr.  Bums  should  have 
a  Hundred  Guineas  for  the  property  of  his  poems.  Mr.  Creech 
said,  that  he  agreed  to  the  proposal,  but  as  Scotland  was  amply 
supplied  with  the  very  numerous  Edition  now  printed,  he  would 
write  to  Mr.  Cadell  of  London  to  know  if  he  would  take  a  share 
of  the  Book,  but  at  any  rate  Mr.  ^uras  should  have  the  money 
named  by  Mr.  M'Kenzie,  which  Mr.  Bums  most  cordially  agreed 
to,  and  to  make  over  the  property  upon  these  terms  whenever 
Mr.  Creech  required  him. 

«'  Upon  Monday  the  2dd  of  April,  1787,  Mr.  Creech  informed 
Mr.  Bums  that  he  had  remained  in  town,  expecting  Mr.  Cadell*s 
answer  for  three  days  as  to  his  taking  a  share  of  the  property  of 
the  poems,  but  that  he  received  no  answer,  yet  he  would  do  as 
formerly  proposed,  and  agreed  to  take  the  whole  upon  himself 
that  Mr.  Bums  might  be  at  no  uncertainty  in  the  matter. 

*'  Upon  this  both  parties  considered  the  transaction  as  finished.'' 

"  Edikburoh,  October  23dy  1787. 

'<  On  demand,  I  promise  to  pay  to  Mr.  Bobert  Burns,  or  order. 
One  Hundred  Guineas,  Value  received. 

(Signed)  William  Cbebch. 
**  Received  the  Contents. 
(Signed)  Bobert  Burns." 

aiogpcapffxt  fiLOtitt  of  SUibm  IBttnUan, 
lots  9mi3^tnt  of  ^t  Court  of  Se«M(ion« 

Robert  Dundas  of  Amiston,  born  1713,  was  the 

1787. 

son  of  the  first  Lord  President  Dundas.     He  at- 


264  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

tended  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  He  became  Solicitor 
General  for  Scotland  in  1742,  and  foor  years  afterwards 
Dean  of  the  Faculty  of  Adyocates,  and  in  1754  MJP.  for 
the  county  of  ^lid-Lothian,  and  six  years  subsequently  was 
raised  to  the  head  of  his  profession  as  Lord  President  of  the 
Court  of  Session.  He  was  dignified  and  calm  as  a  judge. 
He  died  at  his  house,  Adam  Square,  Edinburgh,  13th  De- 
cember, 1787. 


Bi0grapi^tt  Xottte  of  Sit  JFame«  ^tmttv  SUtr. 

Sir  James  Hunter  Blair,  the  son  of  "Mr.  John 

1787. 

Hunter,  merchant,  Ajrr,  was  bom  there  in  1741. 
He  was  apprenticed  to  the  Messrs.  Coutts,  bankers  in  Edin- 
burgh, 1756,  and  Sir  William  Forbes  and  he  became  partners 
in  the  concern  in  1763.  He  married  Miss  Blair  of  Dunskey 
in  1770,  and  in  1781  was  chosen  Member  of  Parliament  for 
Edinburgh;  three  years  after  he  became  Chief  Alagistrate  of 
the  city.  The  erection  of  the  South  Bridge  was  arranged 
by  his  persevering  exertions.  Hunter  Square  and  Blair 
Street  derive  their  names  from  him.    Sir  James  died  in  1787. 

The  Black  Turnpike  near  the  Tron  Church,  the 

1788. 

identical  house  to  which  Queen  Mary  was  taken  for 
a  night  after  her  surrender  at  Carberry,  was  removed  in 
1788  to  complete  the  plans  for  the  South  Bridge. 

The  improved  mode  of  carrying  the  Post  Office  mail, 
which  was  originated  by  Mr.  Palmer,  was  introduced  in 
Edinburgh  10th  April,  1788,  and  the  new  system  excited 
so  much  interest  in  the  Scottish  metropolis,  that  when  the 
coach  set  off  fit)m  Kamsa/s  Inn  or  Hotel,  St.  Mary's  Wynd, 
then  one  of  the  principal  hostelries  in  Edinburgh,  a  great 
crowd  was  assembled  to  witness  its  departure,  as  one  of  the 
bvents  of  the  age.  It  then  took  sixty  hours  to  accomplish 
the  journey  to  London. 

William  Brodie,  a  man  who  had  occupied  the  position  of 


1788.  AKKAUB.  265 

Deacon  of  the  Wrights;  and  who  had  been  addicted  to 
gambling)  in  1788  was  found  guilty  of  robbing  the  Exciae 
Office  in  Chessers  Court,  Canongate,  and  was  executed  for 
the  crime  in  October  of  that  jear. 

fiiogravt^tt  Kotfce  of  GBIilltaitt  hurras. 
Sari  of  ^anitSelD. 

William  Murray,  Earl  of  Mansfield,  was  bom  at 

1788*  *' 

Perth,  1705.  He  studied  at  Oxford,  and  was  called 
to  the  bar  in  1731.  After  the  Porteous  mob  in  1736,  he  was 
employed  by  the  Town  Council  of  Edinburgh  to  oppose  a 
bill  which  had  passed  the  Peers  for  degrading  the  then 
Lord  Provost  of  Edinburgh,  to  abolish  the  Town  Guard, 
and  take  away  the  gates  at  the  Netherbow  Port.  His  ex- 
ertions at  that  time  were  considered  to  have  in  a  great  degree 
contributed  to  the  removal  of  the  most  obnoxious  clauses  of 
the  bill,  and  the  To^nn  Council  presented  him  with  the  free- 
dom of  the  city  in  a  gold  box.  In  1754  Murray  became 
Attorney  General,  and  two  years  after  Lord  Chief  Justice 
of  the  King's  Bench.  He  was  created  Earl  of  Mansfield  in 
1756.     He  died  in  1788. 


Biograpfiir  Kotttr  of  JTof^ti  Slogan. 


1788. 


Logan  tlie  poet,  was  bom  in  Mid-Lotliian  1748. 
He  was  educated  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh, 
and  was  afteiwards  tutor  to  tlie  well  known  Sir  John  Sin- 
clair. 

Logan  edited  the  remains  of  his  brother  poet  Michael 
Bruce  in  1770.  He  was  licensed  as  a  preacher  by  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Edinburgh,  and  ordained  minister  of  South  Leith 
in  1773.  He  was  the  author  of  some  of  the  most  beautiful 
paraphrases  in  the  collection  published  by  the  General  As- 
sembly in  1781.  Logan  delivered  a  course  of  lectures  on 
the   Philosophy  of  Historj'  in   St.  Marj''s   Chapel,  Edin- 


266  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

barghy  in  1780,  a  part  of  which  wa5  pablished  two  yean 
after.  His  poems  were  pablished  the  same  year,  and  his 
tragedy  of  ^  Bonnamede  *  the  following  year.  He  became 
unpopular  and  resigned  his  clerical  charge.  He  died  in 
1788. 

Two  volumes  of  his  sermons  appeared  after  his  death.    In 
point  of  composition  their  style  is  very  beautiful. 

Biogtap^tt  Notice  of  WUSlUm  SuUun  fiHittdt. 

William  Julius  Mickle  was  bom  at  Langholm 
in  1734.  He  was  educated  at  Edinburgh,  and  was 
afterwards  in  business  there  as  a  brewer,  but  was  un- 
fortunate in  trade.  He  was  subsequently  corrector  of  the 
University  press  at  Oxford.  His  translation  of  the  Lusiad 
of  Camoens  appeared  in  1775.  He  died  at  Forest  Hill,  in 
the  county  of  Oxford,  1788.  His  poetical  works  were  pub- 
lished in  3  vols.  8vo  in  1807,  with  a  life  of  the  author. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  splendid  new  bnildiniir 

1789. 

for  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  from  a  design  by 
Robert  Adam,  was  laid  by  Lord  Napier,  16th  November, 
1789,  in  presence  of  a  number  of  the  nobility  and  public 
bodies  of  Edinburgh. 

Siograiii^it  Notf^  of  2(r  IS^tnMti  #(Qer, 
IrOtO  ^ttnQstnt  of  t^  iSmxt  of  Zennitnu 

Sir  Thomas  Miller,  Lord  President  of  the  Court 

1789.  

of  Session,  was  the  son  of  William  Miller,  Writer  to 
the  Signet  in  Edinburgh,  and  was  bom  1717,  passed  Advo- 
cate 1742,  and  in  1749  became  Solicitor  General  for  Scot- 
land, the  following  year  Lord  Advocate.  He  was  appointed 
Lord  Justice  Clerk  in  1766,  and  in  1788  Lord  President, 
and  created  a  baronet.  He  died  1789.  He  was  the  father 
of  Lord  Glenlee. 


1790.  ANNALS.  267 

Dr.  William  CuUen  was  bom  in  Lanarkshire, 

1790 

15th  April,  1710.  He  was  educated  at  Edinburgh. 
He  and  some  companions  established  a  useful  adjunct  to  the 
Boyal  Infirmaxy,  by  the  institution  of  the  Medical  Society 
in  1734.  It  began  by  a  few  students  meeting  once  a  fortnight 
at  their  lodgings  and  reading  a  dissertation  in  English  or 
Latin  on  some  medical  subject.  Li  1736  he  commenced 
business  as  a  surgeon  at  Hamilton.  He  afterwards  resided 
at  Glasgow  and  lectured  there,  and  was  appointed  Professor 
of  Medicine  in  1751.  He  was  elected  Professor  of  Che- 
mistry in  the  University  of  Edinburgh  in  1756,  and  ten 
years  after  was  transferred  to  the  chair  of  the  Theory  of 
Medicine  in  the  same  college,  and  in  1778  succeeded  Gre- 
gory as  Professor  of  the  practice  of  Physic.  His  work  on 
this  branch  of  medical  science  was  published  two  years 
later,  and  circulated  rapidly  throughout  Europe.  He  re- 
signed his  chair  in  1789,  and  died  5th'February,  1790. 

fitogratit^u  Viotitt  of  9r.  flOam  Smtt|. 

One  of  the  most  eminent  philosophers  of  modem 
times.  Dr.  Adam  Smith,  was  bom  at  Elirkcaldy,  5th 
June,  1723,  and  studied  at  Glasgow  and  Oxford  Univer- 
sities. Li  1757  he  became  Professor  of  Logic  at  Glasgow 
College,  and  the  following  year  was  transferred  to  the  Moral 
Philosophy  chair.  His  '  Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments '  ap- 
peared in  1759,  a  work  so  beautiful  and  eloquent  that  Dr. 
Thomas  Brown  was  wont  to  say  of  it,  that  it  should  be  read 
by  ^^  all  people  that  on  earth  do  dweU;''  though  he  detracted 
from  its  beauty  by  afterwards  taking  out  a  very  fi^e  passage 
on  the  Atonement.  He  resigned  his  professional  chairin  1 763, 
and  accompanied  Henry  Duke  of  Buccleuch  as  travelling 
tutor  in  his  Continental  travels.  His  great  work  on  the 
'  Wealth  of  Nations,'  which  contains  the  germ  of  the  princi- 


268  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

pies  of  the  modem  science  of  political  ecoDomy,  was  pub- 
lished in  1776.  He  was  appointed  one  of  tlie  commission- 
ers of  the  Board  of  Customs  in  Scotland,  and  thereafter 
became  a  citizen  of  Edinburgh,  mingling  in  the  first  literary 
circles  till  his  deatli  in  1790.  For  the  last  twelve  years  of 
his  life  he  resided  in  a  large  old  mansion  house  in  the 
Canongate,  called  Panmure  House. 


Btogtaiii^tt  finUtt  of  J3r«  ViMbtrt  Htnt^. 

Dr.  Robert  Henrv,  the  historian,  was  bom  in  Stir- 

1790.      .  , 

lingshire,  1718.  He  studied  at  the  University  of 
Edinburgh.  He  became  minister  of  the  New  Greyiriars 
church  in  1768,  and  eight  years  afterwards  was  trans- 
lated, to  the  Old  Church  paiish  in  Edinburgh.  He  under- 
took a  ^  History  of  Britain  from  the  time  of  Julius  Cffisar.' 
The  first  volume  appeared  in  1771,  and  other  four,  previous 
to  his  death,  which  took  place  in  1790.  He  left  materials 
for  a  sixth  volume,  which  was  afterwards  published;  and  of 
the  complete  work,  which  showed  considerable  historical  re- 
searchy  there  have  been  five  editions  published. 


1791. 


1791. 


In  1791,  the  population  of  Edinburgh  and  Leith 
was  found  by  the  census  of  that  year  to  be  ^0,000. 

Btogravl^ic  Notice  of  lotD  l^aOlDo* 

Lord  Haddo  was  the  son  of  the  Eai*l  of  Aber- 
deen, and  elder  brother  of  the  well  known  Edin- 
burgh citizen,  Loixl  Rockville.  In  1782  he  married  a 
sister  of  Sir  David  Baird.  As  Grand  Master  Mason  of 
Scotland,  he  laid  the  foundation-stone  of  the  South  Bridge 
in  Edinburgh.  He  died  in  1791.  The  late  prime  minister 
of  Great  Britain,  the  Earl  of  Aberdeen,  was  the  eldest  son 
of  this  Lord  Haddo. 


1792.  AKKALS.  269 

Btograpltr  Vntitt  of  C^nrnM  BUriOodu 

Dr.  Thomas  Blacklock,  the  blind  poet,  or  as  he 
shoald  rather  be  caUed,  the  blind  man,  was  bom  at 
Annan  in  1721.  He  lost  his  sight  from  smallpox  when  an 
infant.  He  came  to  Edinburgh  in  1741,  and  studied  at  tl)e 
Universit}-.  A  second  edition  of  his  poems  was  published 
there  in  1754,  the  first  having  appeared  at  Glasgow.  Home, 
the  author  of  Douglas,  describes  him  as  ^^  a  strange  creature 
to  look  at,  a  weakly  under  thing/'  Bums  says,  *'  he  had  a 
clear  head  and  excellent  heart,*^  and  states  that  he  experienced 
much  kindness  from  him.  He  long  resided  in  Edinburgh, 
and  kept  boardei*s  in  his  house,  whose  studies  he  superin- 
tended. Dr.  Blacklock  mingled  in  the  best  literary  circles 
of  the  Scottish  metropolis.  He  died  there  7th  July,  1791, 
and  was  buried  at  St.  Cuthbert's  Old  Chapel  of  Ease,  where 
there  is  an  epitaph  on  his  tombstone,  written  by  Dr.  Beattie. 

Application  having  been  ineffectually  made  to 
Mr.  Pitt,  for  a  reform  of  the  Scottish  Burghs  in 
1787,  the  subject  was  afterwards  taken  up  by  Fox  and 
Sheridan,  in  the  House  of  Commons,  and  after  various 
dilatory  parliamentary  proceedings,  a  serious  riot  took  place 
in  Edinburgh  in  1791,  caused  by  Heun'  Dundas,  afterguards 
Lford  Meh-ille,  having  opposed  the  Scottish  Burgh  Refonn. 
The  military  were  called  out,  and  some  of  the  people  killed 
and  wounded. 


it  Vintitt  of  WifUiam  Cstltv. 

William  Tytler  of  Woodhouselee,  was  born  in 

1792. 

Edinburgh  1711.  He  was  admitted  a  Writer  to 
the  Signet  in  1744.  His  *  Inquiry,  historical  and  critical, 
into  the  Evidence  against  Mazy,  Queen  of  Scots,  and  an 
Examination  of  the  Histories  of  Dr.  Robertson  and  Mr. 
Hume  with  respect  to  that  Evidence/  appeared  in  1759. 


270  HISTORY  OF  EDINBXntGH. 

His  arguments  were  in  favour  of  jSfary.  It  became  popular, 
and  reached  four  editions.  In  1783  he  published  '  The  Po- 
etical Remains  of  James  the  First,  Eang  of  Scotland,'  with 
an  able  critical  dissertation  on  his  life  and  writings.  He 
also  wrote  the  Essay  on  Scottish  Music,  appended  to  Arnot's 
History  of  Edinburgh.     He  died  12th  September,  1792. 

Biograpf^ic  TXotitt  of  Viahnt  Haam* 

Robert  Adam,  the  eminent  architect,  was  bom  at 

1792. 

Edinburgh  in  1728.  His  &ther,  William  Adam, 
was  also  an  architect  of  some  distinction ;  the  Roval  Iniir- 
mary  of  Edinburgh  was  one  of  the  productions  of  his  archi- 
tectural skill.  Robert  Adam  was  educated  at  Edinburgh 
University,  and  afterwards  spent  a  few  years  in  Italy.  He 
was  chosen  a  member  of  tlie  Royal  and  Antiquarian  Socie- 
ties of  Edinburgh,  and  in  1768  represented  Einross-shire  in 
Parliament.  The  Adelphi  buildings  of  London  and  the 
General  Register  House  of  Edinburgh,  are  monuments  of 
his  architectural  taste, — the  latter  decidedly  one  of  the 
greatest  ornaments  of  the  New  town  of  Edinburgh.  He 
died  in  1792. 

Utoqtat^it  Nottte  of  ItnV  IffsLxln. 

D.avid  Dalrymple,  Lord  Hailes,  was  born  at  Ed- 
inburgh in  1726,  was  appointed  a  judge  in  1766. 
Of  a  considerable  variety  of  literary  works  which  he  wrote, 
his  ^Annals  of  Scotland'  is  probably  the  most  valuable,  be- 
ing full  of  curious  historical  research.  The  work  was  com- 
pleted in  1779.  Lord  Hailes,  as  well  as  Lord  Kames,  re- 
sided many  years  in  New  Street,  Canongate. 

As  an  accurate  historical  author  his  name  ranks  very 
high.  He  was  a  man  of  unwearied  literary  research,  and  as 
a  judge  was  distinguished  by  high  character  and  integrity. 

Lord  Hailes  died  29th  November,  1792. 


1792.  ANKAUB.  271 

Btogtapt^it  Notitr  of  9o|ii  Stttart, 
SrfptrB  SatI  of  Bute. 

_         The  third  Earl  of  Bute  was  bom  in  the  Parlia- 

1792. 

ment  Square^  Edinburgh,  in  1713.  He  aucceeded 
his  father  as  Earl,  1 723,  and  in  1736  married  Mary,  daugh- 
ter of  the  celebrated  authoress  Lady  Mary  Wortley  Mon- 
tagu. He  had  a  principal  charge  of  the  early  education  of 
George  HI.,  with  whom  he  was  a  great  favourite,  and  he 
became  his  prime  minister  soon  after  his  accession  to  the 
throne,  but  resigned  after  concluding  the  peace  of  Paris 
in  1763.  He  was  addicted  to  literature  and  science,  and 
wrote  a  work  on  English  Plants,  in  nine  volumes  4to. 
He  was  chosen  President  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  on 
its  institution  at  Edinburgh  in  1780,  and  the  Botanic  Gar- 
den of  Edinburgh  in  connection  ^^-ith  the  University  owes 
its  origin  to  him.  It  was  said  that  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
afterwards  George  HI.,  visited  Edinburgh  incoffnitOy  two 
years  before  his  accession  to  the  throne,  in  company  with 
Lord  Bute.     The  Earl  died  1792. 

Biogroplptt  J^titt  of  l.ot&  lioritbflle. 

Alexander  Gordon,  Lord  Rockville,  was  a  son 

1792.  .    . 

of  TTilliam,  Earl  of  Aberdeen,  and  was  born  in  1739, 
passed  Advocate  1759,  and  was  elevated  to  the  bench  in 
1784.  He  long  resided  in  the  close  on  the  southern  side  of 
the  Castle-hill,  called  from  him  Rockville's  Close.  He  after- 
wards removed  to  St.  Andrew's  Square.  He  married  the 
Countess  of  Dumftries  and  Stair. 

Lford  Rockville  figured  as  a  sort  of  eccentric  Edinburgh 
character,  and  died  in  1792. 

In   1793,  Sheridan  carried  the  appointment  of  if 

Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  to  consider 

the  petitions  of  the  royal  burglis  of  Scotlajid  for  a  reform  of 


272  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

their  internal  government,  but  the  atrocities  of  the  revolu* 
tionary  proceedings  in  France  created  so  much  alarm  in 
Great  Britain  as  to  put  an  effectual  barrier  even  against  the 
granting  of  Scottish  burgh  reform. 

At  the  early  period  of  the  French  Revolution,  it  was 
fondly  hoped  in  Great  Britain  that  the  cause  of  rational 
freedom  might  have  predominated,  but  when  the  dreadful 
massacres  occurred  in  Paris  in  1792,  and  France  became  a 
wide  scene  of  scaffolds  and  bloodshed,  and  the  French  Con- 
vention tried  and  executed  Louis  XVI.  early  in  1793,  a 
(j^eneral  revulsion  of  feeling  natm*al}y  took  place,  and  thase 
who  had  been  warmly  and  with  great  enthusiasm  advocatin^r 
Parliamentary  Reform  were  treated  with  the  most  marked 
severity. 

Tliis  period  in  Edinburgh  has  ever  since  been  designated 
as  the  time  of  the  Friends  of  the  People.  The  name  was 
derived  from  a  Convention  of  delegates  of  the  Societies 
called  the  Friends  of  the  People,  having  assembled  in 
Edinburgh  11th  December,  1792.  Political  feeling  then 
running  very  high,  a  counter-association  styling  itself  Friends 
of  the  Constitution  was  also  formed;  the  former  was  attend- 
ed by  the  keen  advocates  of  Parliamentary  Reform,  the 
latter  by  its  opponents.  The  government  resolved  to  take 
decided  steps  against  these  men,  whose  views  they  deemed 
pregnant  with  danger  to  the  country — now  engaged  in  a 
formidable  war  with  France.  The  resxdt  was  a  series  of 
trials  in  Edinburgh  for  sedition.  The  first  of  these,  which 
took  place  30th  August,  1793,  was  that  of  Thomas  Muir, 
Esq.,  Advocate,  Younger  of  Huntershill,  a  young  and  warm 
enthusiast  for  Parliamentary  reform.  A  jury  found  him 
"  guilty,"  and  he  was  sentenced  by  the  High  Court  of  Jus- 
ticiary to  be  transported  beyond  seas  for  fourteen  years. 
The  fate  of  this  young  man  excited  considerable  interest. 
Mr.  William  Adam,  afterwards  Lord  Chief  Commissioner 
of  the  Jury  Court  in  Scotland,  moved  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons some  months  after,  that  the  records  of  the  proceedings 


1793.  AKKAL6.  273 

of  Mail's  trial  be  laid  before  Parliament,  with  a  view  to  tlie 
remission  of  the  sentence  against  him,  but  a  large  majority 
voted  against  this  motion.  Moir  was  then  sent  to  Botanj 
Bay.  His  story  having  excited  interest  in  America,  a  ship 
was  sent  from  New  York  to  Sydney  to  release  him.  He 
embarked  in  it  11th  Februaxy,  1796.  The  vessel  was 
wrecked  near  Nootka  Sound,  on  the  west  coast  of  Kortli 
America,  and  only  Muir  and  two  sailors  were  saved.  They 
were  taken  by  Indians,  but  he  soon  escaped,  and  after  tra- 
velling several  thousand  miles  along  the  western  coast  of 
America,  he  arrived  at  Panama;  from  there  he  went  to  Vera 
Cruz  in  Mexico.  He  then  took  shipping  to  the  Havannah. 
'After  being  imprisoned  at  Cuba,  he  sailed  in  a  Spanish  fri- 
gate for  Cadiz,  which  was  taken  near  that  port  by  a  British 
frigate.  In  the  action,  Muir  was  so  severely  wounded,  tliat 
he  was  thought  dead,  and  was  about  to  be  thrown  over- 
board, when  some  symptoms  of  life  appeared,  and  a  book  fell 
from  his  hand,  on  which  was  inscribed:  ^^This  Bible  pre- 
sented to  Thomas  Muir  by  his  aiBicted  but  affectionate 
mother,''  and  the  ofiBcer  who  thus  found  him  happened  to  be 
one  of  his  earlv  schoolfellows. 

Muir  landed  at  Bordeaux,  November,  1797,  and  was  soon 
after  received  with  great  honour  at  Paris,  where  a  deputa- 
tion from  the  French  government  waited  on  him. 

Muir  died  at  Chantilly  near  Paris,  27th  September,  1798. 

The  next  of  tliis  series  of  trials  for  sedition,  was  that  of 
William  Skirving,  a  respectable  farmer  near  Edinburgh, 
who  had  been  a  candidate  for  the  chair  of  Agriculture  in  the 
University  of  Edinburgh,  and  who  acted  as  Secretary  to  the 
Convention  of  the  Friends  of  the  People.  Some  of  the  Ma- 
gistrates dispersed  a  meeting  they  held  in  Blackfiiars  Wynd, 
5th  December,  1793,  and  a  few  days  afterwards  the  Lord 
Provost  signed  a  warrant  for  Skirving's  apprehension.  He 
was  also  sentenced  to  fourteen  years  banishment. 


s 


274  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

^ioqtsf^it  Notice  of  lotS  ffatBntsUone* 

Franda  Garden,  Lord  Grardenstone.  died  at  his 

1 793. 

house  at  Momingside  in  the  suburbs  of  Edinbnrgfa, 
22d  July,  1793.  He  was  bom  in  1721,  and  raised  to  the 
bench  in  1764.  He  founded  the  beautiful  temple  of  Hygeia, 
St.  Bernard's  Well,  Stockbridge,  in  the  year  1769.  He  was 
a  man  of  considerable  benerolence,  eccentricity,  and  of  some 
literary  taste* 

fiiograiil^tc  Notice  of  J9r.  WRfRUaa  iloiiertson. 

Dr.  William  Kobertson,  Principal  of  the  TJni- 

1793.  .  .  . 

versity,  died  at  the  mansion  house  of  Grange  on  the 
south  side  of  the  city,  11th  June,  1793.  This  celebrated 
historian  was  bom  at  Borthwick,  in  the  county  of  Edin^ 
burgh,  1721,  was  educated  at  Edinburgh  University,  be- 
came minister  of  Gladsmuir  in  1743,  and  joined  a  corps  of 
volunteers  in  defence  of  the  Scottish  capital  in  1745.  His 
'  History  of  Scotland '  appeared  in  1759.  In  1761  he  became 
minister  of  the  Old  Grey£riars  Church,  and  Principal  of  the 
University  in  1762.  Two  years  ailerwards  the  o£5ce  of 
Historiographer  to  the  Eling  was  revived  in  his  favour  with 
a  salary  of  £200  a-year.  In  1777,  his  ^  History  of  the  reign 
of  Charles  V.'  appeared.  The  copyright  of  the  work  yielded 
him  about  £5,000.  His  ^  History  of  America '  was  pub- 
lished in  1778,  and  his  last,  though  not  the  least  able,  of  his 
historical  works,  the  ^Disquisition  on  India,'  appeared  in 
1791.  He  was  long  the  leader  of  the  moderate  party  in  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  and  was  well  known  in  Edinburgh  as 
a  conspicuous  citizen.  His  eldest  son  became  a  judge  of  the 
Court  of  Session  as  Lord  Robertson;  his  second,  James,  was 
a  general  in  the  army,  and  long  resided  in  the  suburbs  of 
the  city;  his  youngest  son  David,  lieutenant-colonel  in  the 
armv,  jnaiTied  tlie  heiress  of  Eanlochmoidart.  His  eldest 
daughter  married  Patrick  Brydone,  author  of  the  *  Tour  in 


1794.  ANKAL&  275 

Malta,'  and  was  grandmother  of  the  present  Earl  vt  Minto. 
His  second  daughter  married  John  Russell,  Esq.  Principal 
Bobeitson  was  grand-uncle  to  Lord  Brougham. 

The  third  trial  for  sedition  at  that  period,  was 

1794. 

that  of  Maurice  Margarot,  which  took  place  13th 
January,  1794. 

Margaret  was  a  merchant  in  London,  and  came  to 
Edinburgh  as  a  delegate  to  the  Friends  of  the  People.  He 
appears  to  have  been  a  man  of  considerable  talent  and 
education,  and  to  have  not  a  little  bothered  old  McQueen 
of  Braxfield,  who  presided  on  the  justiciaxj  bench  as  Lord 
Justice  Clerk  at  his  trial.  As  a  specimen  of  the  way  in 
which  this  was  done,  •  Margaret  inquired  at  the  judge 
what  was  become  of  the  Lord  Justice  General  who  should 
have  presided  at  the  trial,  saying,  if  he  is  absent  to-day, 
the  Lord  Justice  Clerk  may  be  away  to-morrow,  and 
some  of  the  lieges  may  be  left  to  be  tried  by  the  macers  of 
tlie  Court.  Braxfield  replied  in  his  homely  and  brusque, 
though  emphatic  style:  ^'  There's  aneugh  to  try  you  at  ony 
rate,  Mr.  Margarot."  Margaret  was  the  only  one  of  these 
banished  men  who  survived  to  return  to  their  native 
country.    He  died  in  Scotland  in  1816. 

The  fourth  trial  took  place,  10th  March,  1794.  The  pan- 
nel  was  Joseph  Gerrald,  a  young  man  of  great  eloquence, 
who  had  been  educated  under  the  celebrated  Dr.  Parr.  His 
sentence  was  the  same  as  that  of  the  others. 

The  two  last  of  the  series,  were  the  trials  of  Watt  and 
Downie.  Watt  was  an  informer,  and  fell  a  victim  in  the 
meshes  of  his  own  weaving.  He  was  executed  at  Edin- 
burgh, 15th  October,  1794.     Downie  was  reprieved. 

In  1794,  the  first  regiment  of  Soyal  Edihbm'gh  Volun- 
teers was  raised. 


276  HISTORT  OF  EOINBCBGIL 

Biognq^  Xotice  of  gmtn  Brvcr. 

James  Brace,  the  celebrated  Abyssinian  traTeller, 
was  bom  1730.  He  attended  several  literaij  classes 
at  the  IJnirersity  of  fxhnbargh  in  1747.  In  1763  he  went 
to  Algiers  as  Consul.  This  probably  led  to  his  travels  into  the 
interior  of  Africa,  on  which  he  set  oat  two  years  after,  and 
continued  for  nearly  nine  years  his  explorations  of  the  river 
Nile  and  the  country  of  Abyssinia.  He  returned  to  Earope 
in  1774.  Hb  great  work,  ^  Travels  to  Discover  the  Sources 
of  the  Nile/  appeared  in  five  volumes  4to,  1790.  At  first 
many  of  his  statements  were  viewed  as  somewhat  fabulous, 
such  as  the  Abyssinians  eating  steaks  cut  from  the  living 
cow,  but  other  travellers  testified  to  his  veracity.  He  died 
at  his  estate  of  Eannaird  27th  April,  1794.  He  was  a  man 
of  prodigious  size,  six  feet  four  inches  in  height,  and  of  great 
obesity.  Dr.  Murray,  the  Orientalist,  edited  an  edition  of 
his  travels  in  1805,  to  which  he  prefixed  a  biographical 
memoir. 

BCograpfiu  Xotue  of  SBilltaiit  SmeHtr. 

William  Smellie,  an  Edinburgh  printer  and  litter- 
ateur, was  bom  in  the  city  in  1740,  and  attended 
the  High  School.  While  in  business  as  a  printer,  he  formed 
an  intimacy  with  some  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  his 
day.  Dr.  Gregory,  Dugald  Stewart,  President  Blair,  &c. 
Botany  was  one  of  hb  favourite  scientific  pursuits,  and  he 
brought  out  a  volume  of  his  Essays,  entitled  the  ^  Philo- 
sophy of  Natural  History.'  In  1767  he  became  Editor 
of  the  Edinburgh  Weekly  Journal  newspaper,  and  in  1771 
of  the  first  edition  of  the  EncyclopcedtA  Britanmca^  which 
appeared  in  3  vols.  4to.  In  1773  he  was  co-editor  with  Dr. 
Gilbert  Stuart  of  the  Edinburgh  Magazine  and  RecieWj  a 
periodical  which  continued  for  three  years.  For  some  years 
he  was  a  partner  with  Creech,  the  distinguished  Edinburgh 


17J5.  ANNALS.  .277 

pablisher  of  the  day,  and  during  that  period  he  printed  the 
new  edition  of  the  Poems  of  Robert  Bums.  In  1780  he 
transited  Buffon's  Natural  History,  and  ten  years  after- 
wards brought  out  his  ^  Philosophy  of  Natural  History.*  In 
1793  he  was  elected  Secretary  to  the  Society  of  Antiquaries. 
He  died  in  1795. 


Kotite  of  EorB  Wuttambs* 

Alexander  Abercromby,  Lord  Abercromby,  was 
a  son  of  George  Abercromby  of  Tullibody,  and  a 
younger  brother  of  the  gallant  General  Sir  Ralph  Aber- 
cromby. He  was  bom  in  1745,  passed  Advocate  1766,  and 
was  one  of  the  band  of  literati  who  established  Tfte  Mirror 
in  Edinburgh  1779,  and  he  contributed  to  it;  and  also  to 
The  Lounger  in  1786.  His  papers  were  characterised  by  a 
tone  of  quiet  and  calm  philosophy.  He  was  elevated  to  the 
bench  in  1792;  and  died  in  1795. 

Btogtapliit  Vniitt  of  Jfamns  ttostorlL 

James  Boswell,  a  clever  and  amusing  literary 
character,  best  kno^n  as  the  biographer  of  Dr. 
Samuel  Johnson,  was  bom  in  Edinburgh  in  1740.  His 
father,  Lord  Aucliinleck,  was  a  staunch  "Wbig,  the  son  a  de- 
termined Jacobite.  Boswell  was  educated  at  the  University 
of  Edinburgh.  He  first  met  with  Johnson  in  London  in 
1763.  After  visiting  the  Continent  he  passed  Advocate  in 
1766;  two  years  after  he  brought  out  an  account  of  Corsica 
and  its  inhabitants.  His  intimacy  with  the  Corsican  gen- 
eral of  that  name,  gave  him  the  soubriquet  of  PaoUy  and  he 
had  the  gratificatioi)  of  a  visit  fi'om  his  friend  General  Paoli 
in  Edinbui-gh  in  1769.  In  1773  the  Ursa  Major,  Dr.  John- 
son, came  to  Edinburgh  preparatory  to  his  Tour  to  the  He- 
brideSy  and  was  domiciled  with  Boswell  at  his  house  in 
James's  Court,  where  he  was  introduced  to  a  number  of  the 


278  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

Edinburgh  iiteraiy  characters  of  that  period.  Bo6well'd 
'  Life  of  Johnson '  appeared  in  1791,  onqaestionably  one  of 
the  most  interesting  biographies  of  modem  times,  being  in 
fact  a  dagaen'otype  portrait  of  the  man.  Boswell  died  19th 
May,  1795. 

Biograplte  Notice  of  JTamns  Craig* 

James  Craig,  the  architect  of  the  New  town  of 
Edinburgh,  was  the  son  of  Mr.  William  Craig, 
merchant,  Edinburgh,  and  Mary  Thomson,  the  sister  of 
the  author  of  the  Seasons.  Twenty  years  after  he  pixv- 
duced  the  plan  of  the  New,  he  proposed  a  plan  for  remo- 
delling the  Old  town,  which  embraced  an  octagon  between 
the  North  and  South  Bridges,  and  the  Tron  Elirk  in  the 
centre,  and  a  crescent  stretching  from  the  foot  of  Infirmary 
Street  to  the  Horse  Wynd.  Craig  died  in  his  native  city, 
23d  June,  1795. 

Siograyi^tc  Notice  of  SlrxatiDft  fiHwcxas, 

liOtO  li^ftiDnlanD. 

Alexander  Murray,  Lord  Henderiand,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Edinburgh,  and  the  son  of  Archibald  Muiray, 
of  Murrayfield,  Advqcate. 

Murrayfield  is  a  locality  in  the  western  vicinity  of  the 
New  town,  which  has  now  become  studded  with  handsome 
modem  villas. 

Boswell,  in  his  life  of  Johnson,  says  that  Lord  Henderiand 
was  ^^  possessed  of  talents  which  woulH  have  enabled  him  to 
have  shown  himself  to  advantage,  if  too  great  anxiety  had 
not  prevented  him."  He  was  manied  -to  a  niece  of  the 
Earl  of  Mansfield.  He  succeeded  Henry  Dundas,  the  first 
Viscount  Melville,  as  Solicitor  General  for  Scotland  in 
1775. 

There  is  a  monument  erected  to  his  memory  in  St.  Cnth- 


1796.  AKMAU5.  279 

bert*s  churchyard.      The  following  inscription  on  it  gives 
the  events  of  his  career: 

^  Here  are  deposited  the  Bemains 

of 

Alexander  Murray,  of  Henderland, 
Solicitor  General  for  Scotland  1745,  M.P.  for  the  County  of 
Peebles  1780,  Lord  of  Session  and  Justiciary  1783,  bom  11th 
May,  1736,  died  16th  March,  1795,  and  of  Catherine,  his  wife, 
daughter  of  Sir  Alexander  Lindsay  of  Evelick,  bom  1st  January 
1737,  died  11th  December  1828.'' 

Lord  Henderland  left  two  sons,  William  Murray  of  Hen* 
derland,  who  died  in  1854,  and  the  presoit  Lord  Marray, 
one  of  the  judges  of  the  Court  of  Session. 

It  is  cuiious  to  observe  how  the  history  of  Edin- 
burgh is  occasionally  connected  with  the  history  of 
Europe.  The  revolution  in  France  led  to  the  decapitation  of 
Louis  XVI.^  and  in  1796  his  brother  the  Count  d'Artois, 
and  who  afterwards  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  France  as 
Charles  X.,  with  a  train  of  French  nobility  came  to  reside 
in  Edinburgh,  where  they  had  apartments  assigned  them  in 
the  palace  of  Holyrood. 

From  the  great  scale  on  which  the  war  with  France 
was  then  conducted,  military  affairs  assumed  a  prominent 
aspect  in  Edinburgh  as  elsewhere.  New  large  military 
barracks  were  erected  on  the  west  side  of  the  Castle. 
Unfortunately,  instead  of  being  built  in  the  Gothic  style 
of  architecture  to  harmonise  with  the  ancient  fortress,  they 
present  the  appearance  of  a  plain  modem  buildings 

The  cavalry  barracks  at  Fiershill  near  the  city,  were  also 
built  about  the  same  period. 

On  the  appearance  of  a  French  fleet  in  Bantxy  Bay  in 
Ireland,  December,  1796,  the  first  regiment  of  Royal  Edin- 
burgh Volunteers — ^the  Blues,  as  they  were  called — made  an 
offer  to  Lord  Adam  Gordon,  then  Commander  of  the  Forces 


280  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

in  Scotland,  to  take  the  garrison  duty  of  Edinburgh  Castle 
in  case  of  need. 


BtoStayl^tc  Notice  of  JFol^n  ^tannon. 

John  Anderson,  A.M.,  spent  twentj*five  years  of 
his  eai'Iy  life  in  the  city  of  Edinburgh.  He  was  tutor 
to  John  the  great  Duke  of  Ar^ryle  and  Green  wich,  and  after- 
wards minister  of  Dumbarton.  He  was  known  as  tlie  au« 
thor  of  many  works  on  church  questions.  The  most  famous 
was  his  *  Defence  of  Presbyterian  Church  Government/ 
published  in  1714.  He  became  minister  of  the  North  West 
church  of  Glasgow  in  1722. 

His  son,  James  Anderson,  was  minister  of  Boseueath,  and 
his  grandson.  Professor  John  Anderson,  is  a  name  destined 
to  live  in  the  annals  of  Scottish  literature  and  education. 
He  was  bom  at  Roseneath  1726,  and  was  appointed  Pro- 
fessor of  Oriental  Languages,  Glasgow,  in  1756.  His  ^  In- 
stitutes of  Physics '  appeared  in  1786.  He  died  30th  Janu- 
ary, 1796,  leaving  his  whole  fortune  to  institute  AndersorCa 
Umversityj  at  Glasgow — an  academy  which  has  now  a  strong 
band  of  professors,  and  supplies  courses  of  lectures  on  the 
various  branches  of  science  to  large  audiences. 

B(ograp^ic  fiotttt  of  JTatnen  ^aq^l^erwiL 

James  Macpherson,  known  by  the  literary  cogno- 
men of  Ossian  Macpherson,  was  bom  in  Inverness- 
shire  1738,  and  studied  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 
He  brought  out  ^  The  Highlander,'  a  poem  in  six  cantos, 
printed  at  Edinburgh  in  duodecimo,  in  1758.  He  soon  after 
published  a  work,  entitled  ^  Fragments  of  Ancient  Poetry, 
collected  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  and  translated  from 
the  Gaelic,  or  Erse  Language.'  At  this  time  he  was  tutor  in 
Graham  of  Balgowan's  family.  The  work  made  a  great 
sensation,  and  was  read  with  enthusiasm.     Such  was  the 


1796.  AKNALS.  281 

beginning  of  the  famous  Ossianic  controversj.  A  subscrip- 
tion was  got  up  to  send  Macpherson  to  tlie  Highlands,  to 
procure  more  of  these  Gaelic  treasures.  In  1762  he  pub- 
hshed  'Fingal,  an  ancient  Epic  Poem  in  six  books,  with 
other  poems  by  Ossian,  tlie  son  of  Fingal,  translated  from 
the  Gaelic'  The  fame  of  these  poems  spread  over  Europe; 
they  were  translated  into  many  languages.  In  1763  ap- 
peared ^  Temora,'  with  other  poems  by  Ossian,  but  the  en- 
thusiasm for  the  poetry  of  Ossian  had  now  somewhat  abated. 
Great  doubts  had  arisen  whether  they  were  genuine  Gaielic 
poetry,  or  Macpherson's  own  productions.  The  literary 
world  was  divided  in  the  controversy.  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson 
deemed  them  spuinous,  David  Hume  and  Adam  Smith  were 
dubious  on  the  point,  Dr.  Blair  and  Lord  Karnes  considere<1 
them  authentic  productions  of  the  Gael.  The  controversy 
has  long  since  died  a  natural  death,  and  the  general  opinion 
seems  to  be,  that  Ossian's  poems  had  some  original  and  tra- 
ditional life  in  the  Gaelic  language,  though  Macpherson 
could  claim  the  chief  paternity.  He  subsequently  attempted 
a  translation  of  Homer*s  Iliad,  which  was  a  failure.  In 
1775  he  brought  out  a  *  History  of  Great  Britain,  from  the 
Kestoration  to  the  Hanoverian  Succession.'  ^facpherson 
died  at  his  estate  of  Belle^'ille,  Inverness-shire,  17th  Feb- 
raary,  1796. 


Btograiit^ft  Kottcf  of  SabiB  Allan. 

David  Allan,  a  well  known  Edinburirh  artist  and 

179S 

painter  of  his  day,  was  born  at  Alloa  1744.  He 
attended  the  Foulis's  painting  academy  in  Glasgow  in  1755. 
About  1780  he  was  appointed  Master  and  Director  of  the 
Academy  under  the  Board  of  Scottish  Trustees  in  Edin- 
burgh. He  published  an  edition  of  the  Gentle  Shepherd, 
with  amusing  drawings  in  1788.  He  also  executed  graphic 
and  humorous   illustrations   of  Bums's   Poems.      He  was 


282  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

not  inappropriately  called  the  Scottish  Hogarth,  and  died  in 
Edinburgh,'  6th  Aogust,  1796. 

The  battle  of.  Camperdown  was  fought  between 
the  British  and  Dutch  fleets,  11th  October,  1797. 
The  former  was  commanded  bj  Adam  Duncan,  a  citizen 
of  ^^dinbnrgh,  who  resided  in  George  Square.  He  cap- 
tured nine  sail  of  the  line,  and  took  the  Dutch  admiral, 
de  Winter,  prisoner.  The  city  of  Edinburgh  was  splen- 
didly illuminated  in  honour  of  this  victory,  on  16th  October, 
1797,  and  a  few  days  after,  Duncan  was  created  a  British 
Peer.  The  word  Camperdown  became  the  fashionable 
name,  the  nom  de  guei^^e  in  Edinburgh.  Every  thing 
was  now  styled  Camperdoiony  and  it  became  so  general 
that  common  salt  was  actually  cried  through  the  streets — 
"  Wha'll  buy  Camperdown  Saut" 


16io%xuifyit  Xotite  of  9x*  9ame%  l^tttton* 

Dr.  James  Hutton,  the  celebrated  author  of  the 

1797. 

*  Theory  of  the  Earth,*  was  bom  in  Edinburgh  1726. 
He  was  educated  there,  and  a&erwards  took  his  degree  as 
M.D.  at  Leyden,  in  1749.  He  formed  a  copartnery  with 
Mr.  John  Davie,  with  whom  he  carried  on  a  manufactory  of 
Sal  Ammoniac  in  Edinburgh,  from  coal-soot.  His  partner 
was  hence  called  and  well  known  in  Edinburgh  as  Sootie 
Davie,  Dr.  Hutton's  outline  of  the  ^  Theory  of  the  Earth,' 
was  first  published  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society, 
and  appeared  in  a  more  complete  form  in  1796,  with  all  the 
facts  he  had  accumulated  in  support  of  it  during  his  many 
visits  to  different  parts  of  Europe.    He  died  26th  March,  1797. 

A  nesociation  for  peace  between  Great  Britain 

1798.  .  . 

and  France  being  broken  off  in  a  way  that  rendered 
the  French  Directory   highly  unpopular  in   Britain,  the 


1799.  ANKAL&  283 

country  came  forward  with  large  volontarr  aabscxiptions  in 
aid  of  the  government,  and  the  premier  Pitt,  who  then  was 
<<  the  pilot  that  weathered  the  storm.''  The  city  of  Edin- 
burgh was  most  liberal  on  the  occasion.  The  faculty  of 
Advocates  met,  and  voted  £2,000.  The  City  Corporation 
subscribed  £1,000,  followed  by  the  other  public  bodies,  and 
the  citizens  individually  subscribed  a  large  amount,  and  the 
enthusiasm  was  canied  so  far  that  there  was  even  a  ladies' 
subscription. 

The  intelligence  of  Nelson's  victory — ^the  Battle  of  the 
Nile,  which  was  fought  on  1st  August,  1798,  when  nine 
French  ships  of  the  line  were  taken  by  tlie  British, — caused 
great  rejoicing.  On  6th  October,  1798,  a  military  feu  de 
joie  took  place  on  the  occasion,  and  the  same  evening,  a  bril* 
liant  iUumination  of  the  city. 

On  the  last  Wednesday  and  Thursday  of  May, 
1799,  there  died  in  Edinburgh,  two  men,  who  in  the 
political  history  of  the  preceding  period  had  been  among  the 
most  cons|>icuous  of  her  citizens:  The  Bight  Hon.  Bobert 
MacQueen  of  Braz6eld,  Lord  Justice  Clerk,  who,  though  a 
man  of  thorough  honest,  blunt,  and  downright  character, 
was  deeply  imbued  with  the  ultra-tory  feelings  of  the  day, 
and  was  considered  so  determined  and  stem  in  his  career  as 
a  criminal  judge,  tliat  his  favourite  maxim  was  said  to  have 
been,  '^  Hang  a  thief  when  he's  young,  and  he'll  no  steal 
when  he's  auld."  The  otlier  the  Lord  Provost,  Elder,  was 
three  different  times  called  to  fill  •the  civic  chair  of  Edin- 
burgh, during  the  stormy  period  of  tlje  French  Bevolution, 
and,  as  has  been  already  stated,  took  an  active  part  in 
breaking  up  the  associations  and  meetings  of  the  Friends  of 
the  People  and  the  British  Convention  in  Edinburgh.  At 
that  time  Bobert  Dunda;  of  Arniston,  afterwards  Lord 
Chief  Baron,  an  upright  and  honourable  man,  though  also 
probably  imconscious  to  himself,  with  his  mind  strongly 
biassed  with  political  feeling,  was  Lord  Advocate,  and 
his   relative    Henry   Dundas,   afterwards    Lord    Melville, 


284  HISTORY  OF  EOINBUBGH. 

Secretary  of  State  for  Home  Affairs,  with  almost  the  entire 
political  management  of  Scotland  in  his  hands. 

Elder*s  services  to  these  functionaries  as  well  as  to  Pitt,  who 
was  then  prime  minister,  were  deemed  of  the  highest  valae, 
and  he  was  admitted  to  their  private  social  intercourse.  The 
story  is  given,  we  believe  correctly,  that  on  one  of  his  visits 
to  London,  Provost  Elder  dined  at  Wimbledon  with  Dundas 
and  Pitt  at  the  house  of  the  former,  when  after  spending  a 
pleasant  and  happy  evening  to  rather  a  late  hour,  Elder  in- 
quired in  the  morning  at  the  servant  of  his  host,  if  his  mas- 
ter and  Mr.  Pitt  were  ready  for  breakfast  yet,  "  Sir,"  said 
he,  ^'  they  set  off  to  LondoTi  this  morning  at  four  o'clock.'* 

The  Magistrates  and  denizens  of  Edinburgh  seem  to  have 
been  very  ready  to  indicate  their  loyalty  and  rejoicing  about 
this  time  on  all  public  occasions,  by  illuminating  their  city. 
This  was  again  done  on  6th  September,  1799,  on  the  sur- 
render of  the  Dutch  fleet  to  Admiral  Mitchell. 

Count  d'Artois,  afterwards  Charles  X.  of  France,  left 
Edinburgli  6th  August,  1799,  after  a  residence  of  some 
years  in  the  palace  of  Holyrood,  where  with  his  sons,  the 
Dues  d'Angouleme  and  Berri,  he  had  occasionally  held 
levees.  He  wrote  a  letter  on  the  eve  of  his  departure  to  the 
Magistrates,  thanking  them  for  the  kindness  and  hospitality 
he  had  received  in  the  city.  About  the  same  period,  a  ru- 
mour was  current  in  Edinburgh,  that  Napoleon  Bonaparte 
had  been  taken  prisoner  by  the  gallant  Sir  Sidney  Smith, 
at  the  siege  of  Acre. 

Kioqtujf^ic  Votitt  of  St*  Jfo0f9|  iSIatiu 

Dr.  Joseph  Black,  the  distinguished  Chemist,  was 
bom  in  1728,  came  to  Edinburgh  as  a  student  of 
medicine  in  1751,  and  five  years  after  was  appointed  Pro- 
fessor of  Anatomyin  the  University,  which  chair  he  afterwards 
exchanged  for  that  of  Medicine.  In  1762  he  had  matured 
his  theory  of  latent  heat.     In   1764  the  celebrated  James 


1799.  ANKALS.  285 

Watt  studied  under  him  as  a  pupil,  and  two  jears  after,  be 
succeeded  Dr.  Cullen  as  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Edinburgh;  His  residence  was  the  building 
now  occupied  by  the  female  Industrious  Blind,  in  Nicolson 
Street.  Dr.  Black  associated  with  the  highest  literary 
circles.     He  died  2Cth  November,  1799. 

Biographic  Kotict  of  gsmtn  Sttrnet, 
1.01:0  ^onboOOo. 


1799. 


James  Burnet,  Lord  Monboddo,  was  one  of  the 
legal  and  literary  characters  of  the  Scottish  capi- 
tal. He  was  bom  at  Monboddo,  Kincardineshire,  in  1714, 
was  educated  at  Laurencekirk  and  Aberdeen.  His  ad- 
vent in  Edinburgh  was  the  night  of  the  Porteous  mob,  in 
which  he  got  accidentally  entangled.  He  passed  Advocate 
the  following  year,  and  in  1767  was  raised  to  the  bench. 
He  wrote  a  work  on  tlie  '  Origin  and  Progress  of  Lan- 
guages." 

Lord  Monboddo  had  many  eccentricities, — he  would  not 
sit  on  the  bench  along  with  his  brother  judges,  but  had  a 
chair  placed  beneath  them,  beside  the  clerks  of  the  Court. 
He  always  travelled  to  London  on  horseback.  Dr.  Samuel 
Johnson  visited  him  at  Monboddo,  on  his  wav  to  the  He- 
brides  in  1773.  Lord  Monboddo  was  a  sort  of  Maecenas  in 
Edinburgh;  he  gave  literary  suppers.  He  died  27th  May, 
1799.  His  second  daughter  was  celebrated  for  her  personal 
beauty,  and  Burns's  lines  on  her  were: 

"  Ftir  Burnet  Btrikes  the  adoring  eye, 
Heaven's  beauties  on  my  fancy  shine." 

BiogxnpW  Nottre  of  ^tttt  WLiUiam%oxL 

This  man  was  rather  a  remarkable  Edinburc^h 

1799. 

character,  and  his  history  was  singular.     He  was  a 
native  of  Aberdeenshire,  and  according  to  a  horrid  practice 


286  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

then  prevalent,  he  was  kidnapped  in  1740  when  a  child  ten 
years  old,  and  sold  at  Philadelphia  as  a  slave  for  seven  years 
for  the  snm  of  £16.  Having  obtained  his  liberty,  he  mar* 
ried  and  became  a  farmer,  but  in  1754  he  was  carried  off 
by  a  party  of  North  American  Indians,  and  resided  a  long 
period  with  them,  and  to  conciliate  them  adopted  their  dress 
and  customs;  he  at  length  made  lus  escape  and  became  a 
soldier, — ^was  taken  prisoner  by  the  French,  he  was  ex- 
changed,— returned  to  Scotland,  and  finally  settled  in  Ed- 
inburgh, where  in  1762  he  published  a  small  volume,  with 
an  account  of  his  Life  and  Adventures. 

Williamson  was  a  printer,  and  sold  his  own  book,  and 
kept  a  tavern  about  the  Parliament  House,  much  fre- 
quented by  lawyers,  which  Fergusson  the  poet  alludes  to 
as  "Indian  Peter's  coffee-room.'*  He  occasionally  gave 
public  exhibitions  as  a  Delaware  Indian.  In  1777  he 
published  the  first  Edinburgh  Directory,  which  he  brought 
oat  biennially.  He  also  was  the  first  to  establish  a  penny 
post-office  in  Edinburgh.  Williamson  died  in  Edinburgh 
1799. 

The  concluding  year  of  the  eighteenth  century 
was  remarkable  as  a  year  in  which  all  provisions 
bore  a  very  high  price.    The  crops  of  the  previous  harvest 
were  considered  only  about  one  half  of  an  average. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants,  held  on  1st  January, 
1800,  the  Lord  Provost,  Sir  James  Stirling,  in  the  chair; 
to  devise  measures  for  relief  of  the  poor,  it  was  resolved  to 
supply  them  with  food  and  fuel  at  reduced  prices,  and  to 
establish  soup  kitchens  by  public  subscription.  This  was 
accordingly  done  on  a  large  scale.  To  reduce  the  quantity 
of  bread  consumed,  the  Legislature  passed  an  act,  prohibiting 
the  sale  of  loaves  till  afler  they  had  been  twenty-four  hours 
baked,  and  bread  with  more  than  the  usual  quantity  of  bran 
in  it  was  recommended  to  be  used,  as  well  as  an  increased 
consumpt  of  potatoes  in  lieu  of  bread.    What  were  called 


1800.  AKKALB.  287 

meal  mobs,  oocnrred  in  the  city  at  this  time ;  and  the  stores 
of  several  dealers,  both  in  Edinburgh  and  Leith,  were  broke 
into  and  pillaged;  but  bj  the  aid  of  the  civil  and  military 
power,  quiet  was  restored,  and  strong  gnards  kept  watch  at 
different  parts  of  the  city. 

The  hoosehold  wheaten  loaf  of  four  lb.  Dutch,  was  this 
year  so  high  as  one  shilling  and  sixpence. 

tttograpi^it  Xotttt  of  Igamtn  fUtLtknifj^ 

James  Macknight,  D.D.,  was  bom  in  Ayrshire 
1721.  He  published  his  *  Harmony  of  the  Gospels' 
in  1756.  He  was  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  in 
1769,  and  was  ordained  ministei*  of  Lady  Tester's  Church 
in  Edinburgh  in  1772,  and  became  colleague  to  Dr.  Henry 
the  historian  in  the  Old  church  in  177^.  His  Translation 
of  the  Epistles  from  the  Original  Greek,  vnth  a  Commen- 
tan',  and  Notes,  a  work  of  great  labour,  was  published  in  4 
vols,  in  1795.     He  died  in  1800. 

Btograpltc  Notice  of  JBr.  Sugi^  Slafr. 

With  tlie  closing  days  of  the  centurj*,  27th  De- 
cember, 1800,  there  died  at  Edinburgh  a  native  of 
the  city,  in  his  83d  year,  who  exercised  a  considerable  influence 
in  literature,  and  as  a  leader  in  the  Church  of  Scotland — Dr. 
Hugh  Blair.  He  was  a  native  of  Edinburgh,  and  in  1 758 
was  nominated  one  of  the  ministers  of  the  High  Church,  and 
four  years  afterwards  appointed  Professor  of  Rhetoric  and 
Belles  Letti*es  in  the  University.  His  '  Critical  Dissertation 
on  the  Poems  of  Ossian/  in  which  he  became  the  champion 
of  Macpherson's  authorship  of  these  Celtic  fragments,  was 
published  in  1763,  and  his  first  volume  of  Sermons  in  1777, 
followed  by  several  others.  Blair's  published  discourses  be- 
came exceedingly  popular,  and  attracted  the  attention  of 
George  IH.  and  his  Queen,  who  bestowed  on  hira  a  pen- 


288  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

sion.  In  composition  his  sermons  wet'e chaste  and' elegant; 
in  religious  doctrine  very  moderate.  Among  his  friiendv  and 
contemporaries  were  Lord  Karnes,  Adam  Smith,  Dairid 
Hnme,  Principal  Robertson,  Lord  Monboddo,.Adanr Fer- 
guson, John  Home,  and  James  Boswell* 

.  •  r     •  •  • 

The  union  of  Gi^eat  Britain  with  Ireland  took 

1801 

place  Ist  January,  1801.  It  was  arranged  that  all 
the  volunteer  corps  of  the  city  should  assemble  on  the  occa- 
sion, and  fire  a,  feu  dejoie.  Inclemency  of  the  weather  pre» 
vented  this  taking  place.  The  Lord  Provost  and  Magis- 
trates prohibited  an  illumination,  on  account  of  the  severe 
pressure  of  the  times*  They  presented  a  congratulatory  ad- 
dress to  the  Eling  on  this  auspicious  event. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  century,  street  begging  was 
strictly  prohibited  in  Edinburgh  by  the  Magistrates,  and  a 
House  of  Industry  was  opened  for  ail  who  were  willing  to 
work. 

The  foundation-stone  of  the  Wet  Dock  at  Leith  was  laid 
by  Robert  Dundas,  Esq.  of  Melville,  with  masonic  honours, 
on  14th  May,  1801.  A  grand  procession  took.place'oftrthe 
occasion,  the  Lord  Provost,  Magistrates^  lindGoundt-d^^ 
Edinburgh,  were  present  in  their  robes^  andpceceded'^by  the 
insignia  of . .  ofHce.  The  Bank  of  Scotland  and  Royal  Bank 
gave  an  advance  of  £20,000  each,  to  carry  on  this  under- 
taking for  the  improvement  of  the  Port. 

A  smart  shock  of  an  earthquake,  which  continued  two  or 
three  seconds,  was  felt  in  the  city  and  the  neighbourhood, 
7th  September,  1801.  The  weather  was  calm,  the  baro- 
meter stood  high  and  had  been  gradually  rising.  So  exten- 
sive a  shock  had  not  occurred  in  Scotland  since  the  earth- 
quake  at  Lisbon  1755.  ?  0  ^  — ' 

Preliminaries  of  peace  between  Great  Britain  and  France 
were  signed  1st  October,  1801.  On  the  aoival  of  the  post  in 
Edinburgh  on  the  13th,  with  accoiirrts  of  £heir  ratification, 
the  people  took  the  horses  from  the^inail*  coach,  and  having 


1801.  AKKAL6.  289 

raised  the  British  coloan  over  the  French  and  moanted  a 
miller  on  the  box  as  an  emblem  of  plenty  a  very  natural 
proceeding  at  this  period  when  provisions  were  scarce  and 
dear.  They  drew  the  mail  carriage  down  to  the  Lord 
Provost's  (the  Bight  Hon.  William'  Fettes)  villa  at  Comely 
Bank,  and  afterwards  through  the  principal  streets  of  the 
city.  There  was  a  militaxy  parade  in  the  forenoon,  the 
great  guns  of  the  Castle  fired  a  royal  salute,  General  Vyse, 
the  acting  Commander  of  the  Forces,  and  his  suite  appearing 
on  the  north-east  bastion — and  in  the  evening  the  city  was 
splendidly  illuminated. 

•  On  the  5th  November,  1801,  the  French  prisoners  of  war 
in  Edinburgh  Castle  were  liberated,  and  marched  to  Leith, 
•whence  they  sailed  for  their  native  country. 


Sir  WMfli  Vbttttmobs. 

Sir  Balph  Abercroroby  was  bom  in  1738,  and 
after  extensive  military  service  was  appointed  Com- 
mander of  the  Forces  in  Scotland  in  1798,  and  was  for 
several  years  a  popular  public  character  in  Edinburgh.  He 
was  nominated  to  the  command  of  the  British  army  engaged 
in  the  expedition  to  Egypt  in  1801,  was  mortally  wounded 
at  the  battle  of  Alexandria,  and  died  28th  March,  1801. 
A  fiineral  parade  of  the  battalions  and  corps  of  the  artillery 
and  infantry  of  the  Edinburgh  Volunteer  Brigade  took  place 
in  Bruntsfield  Links,  in  honour  of  his  memor}'  on  the  2d 
June  following,  when  the  general  orders  from  the  Duke  of 
York,  as  Commander-in-chief,  on  the  events  in  Egypt,  were 
read  to  the  several  corps..  A  monument  was  ordered  by 
Parliament  to  be  erected  in  St.  Paul'^  Cathedral  to  the 
memor}*  of  this  gallant  officer,  and  his  widow  was  created  a 
British  peeress  with  an  annuity  of  £2,000  to  her  and  her 
two  next  male  heirs. 


290  HISTORT  OF  EDINBUBQH. 

M4M  Vbsm  CorBoit. 

Lord  Adam  Gordon,  a  respectable  old  militarj 
gentleman,  was  long  well  known  in  Edinburgh  as 
a  citizen.  He  was  a  son  of  the  second  Duke  of  Gordon, 
and  was  representative  for  the  counties  of  Aberdeen  and 
Kincardine  in  Parliament  for  some  thirty  years.  In  1789 
he  was  appointed  Commander  of  the  Forces  in  Scotland. 
During  this  command,  the  reviewing  of  the  various  corps  of 
the  Edinburgh  volunteers  constituted  one  of  his  ixivourite 
amusements,  and  in  1796  he  received  the  Count  d'Artois, 
afterwards  Charles  X.,  on  his  arrival  in  Edinburgh.  He 
resigned  the  command  in  Scotland  in  1798.  Tliis  old 
gentleman,  a  good  specimen  of  the  school  of  last  century, 
died  at  his  beautiftd  seat  of  ^^  The  Bum "  in  Elincardine- 
shire  in  1801. 

Bichard  Gall,  a  Scottish  poet  of  some  celebritv, 

1801.  .  * 

was  bom  in  1776.  He  became  an  apprentice  with 
Mr.  David  Bamsay,  printer,  the  proprietor  and  publisher  of 
the  Edinburgh  Evening  Courant.  Thomas  Campbell,  the 
author  of  the  ^  Pleasures  of  Hope,'  and  Gall  lived  together 
in  the  same  house  in  Alison  Square,  at  the  close  of  last  cen- 
tury, and  were  intimate  friends.  Dr.  Murray,  the  distin- 
guished Oriental  scholar,  who  was  for  a  short  while  Pro- 
fessor of  Hebrew  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  was 
then  also  one  of  his  associates.     Gall  died  in  1801. 

On  the  accounts  of  the  signing  of  the  definitive 
treaty  of  peace  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
French  Republic,  arriving  in  Edinburgh,  1st  April,  1802, 
there  was  an  enthusiastic  repetition  of  the  same  rejoicings 
as  those  which  took  place  on  the  preliminaries  being  signe<l 
the  previous  year,  and  on  the   4th   May  the  formal  pro- 


1802.  ANKAL&  291 

clamation  of  peace  took  place.  The  ofBcen  of  the  Lord 
Lyon  King  at  Arms,  assembled  at  the  Parliament  House 
and  proceeded  ^o  the  Cross,  the  streets  being  lined  with 
military — ^then  to  the  Castle-hill,  the  great  guns  being  fired 
— thence  to  the  palace  of  Holyrood. 

For  twenty  years  the  Earl  of  Leven  had  represented  the 
Sovereign  at  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land, as  Lord  High  Commissioner  at  its  meetings  in  Edin- 
burgh, but  in  1802  Francis  Lord  Napier,  a  nobleman  of 
great  kindliness  of  disposition,  was  appointed  to  the  situation, 
which  he  also  filled  for  many  years.  His  first  levee  was  at- 
tended by  many  of  the  Scottish  nobility,  and  was  held  in 
the  King's  Arms  Hotel  or  Tavern,  High  Street,  whence  his 
Grace  walked,  equipped  in  full  court  dress,  attended  by  many 
of  the  nobility  and  gentry,  and  the  Magistrates  of  the  c\tx 
in  their  robes  to  the  High  Church,  and  after  hearing  sermon 
they  adjourned  to  the  new  aisle  in  the  same  buQding, — an 
arena,  where  often,  as  good  public  speaking  was  to  be  heard 
as  in  the  British  House  of  Commons,  the  roost  celebrated 
Scottish  judges  and  advocates  being,  as  well  as  the  clergy, 
members  of  Assembly. 

The  police  of  the  city  had  hitherto  been  conducted  by 
means  of  the  Town  Guard,  a  corps  of  antiquated  soldiers, 
dressed  somewhat  in  the  George  H.  style,  with  cocked  hats 
and  knee  breeches,  and  long  black  gaiters,  a  body  of  men 
totally  unsuited  for  any  emergency ;  it  was  therefore  felt  that 
to  meet  the  increased  extent  and  population  of  the  city,  a 
new  system  was  required.  A  numerous  meeting  of  the  citi- 
zens was  held  on  the  subject  29th  November,  1802,  where 
resolutions  were  unanimously  agreed  to  for  obtaining  an  act 
of  Parliament  for  the  better  watching  of  the  city  and  suburbs, 
and  to  prevent  street  begjring. 

A  work  called  the  Edinburgh  Review,  of  which  two 
numbers  only  appeared,  was  launched  in  the  capital  of  Scot- 
land so  far  back  as  1755,  but  the  first  number  of  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  literan-  journals  that  ever  appeared  in  the 


292  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUB6H. 

m 

worldy  was  pablished  under  the  same  title — the  Edinburgh 
Beview— on  10th  October,  1802. 

A  constellation  of  young  men  of  great  literary  and  satirical 
talent  between  twenty  and  thirty  years  of  age,  wa^then  con- 
gregated in  Edinburgh,  and  at  a  meeting  held  at  the  house  of 
Frands  Jeffirey,  then  residing  in  Buccleuch  Place,  they  agreed 
to  start  this  woric*  It  was  a  perad  venture,  but  the  state  of  the 
intellectual  atmosphere  in  Europe  at  that  period — ^twelve 
years  after  the  commencement  of  the  French  revolution — ?ras 
favourable  to  such  an  undertaking,  where  the  practical  phi* 
losophy  of  life  and  literature  was  to  be  discussed.  Sidney 
Smith  was  nominally  the  first  editor,  but  they  all  looked  to 
Jeffirey  as  the  man  on  whom  they  chiefly  relied.  He  had 
felt  the  aspirations  of  conscious  genius,  and  some  five 
years  before  said:  ^^I  should  like  to  be  the  rival  of  Smith 
and  Hume,  and  there  are  some  moments  when  I  fancy  it 
possible  that  I  shall  one  day  arrive  at  such  a  distinction.*** 
The  band  associated  with  lain,  were  Sidney  Smith,  Francis 
Homer,  Henry  Brougham,  J.  A.  Murray  (now  Lord  Mur- 
ray), Dr.  Thomas  Brown,  J.  Allen,  and  Lord  Webb  Sey- 
mour. They  arranged  with  Archibald  Constable,  then  an 
enterprising  young  ,man  recently  commenced  business  as  a 
bookseller,  to  be  their  publisher.  The  fii'st  three  numbers  were 
given  to  him,  he  taking  the  risk,  but  afterwards  ten  guineas 
a-sheet  were  allowed  to  contributors,  subsequently  increased 
to  sixteen  guineas,  Jefirey  also  receiving  a  salary  as  editor. 
The  contributors  at  first  kept  incognito,  and  the  talent  dis- 
played in  the  journal,  produced  a  sort  of  electrical  effect. 
The  advent  of  every  number  was  looked  forward  to  as  an 
event  in  the  literary  world.  The  piquant  nature  of  the  ar- 
ticles contributed  not  a  little  to  this  success,  as  for  instance 
the  one  on  Lord  Byron's  '  Hours  of  Idleness,'  long  sup- 
posed to  be  written  by  Jeffrey,  but  now  known  to  be  the 
production  of  Lord  Brougham — ^where  that  distinguished 

•  Cookbam's  Life  of  Jeffirej. 


1802.  AHNAUSL  293 

man  of  genins  loosed  another  into  fame  bj  his  satire. — His 
criticism  commences  ominonslj  thus:  ^'The  poesy  of  this 
young  lord  belongs  to  the  class  which  neither  gods  nor  men 
are  said  to  permit.^  Bjron  a  few  years  afterwards  retaliated 
on  Jeffrey  in  his  '  English  Bards  and  Scotch  Beviewers:* 

"  Bebold  A  ohoten  iMiid  ■hAll  aid  tby  pkn, 
And  own  thee  chieftain  of  the  critic  clan. 
First  in  the  ranks  iUastrions  shall  he  seen 
The  trayeUed  Thane!  Athenian  Aberdeen,* 
fining  Sydney  too,  thy  bitter  page  shall  seek. 
And  classic  Hallam,  mnoh  renowned  for  Ghreek.*' 


Henry  Dundas,  formerly  Lord  Advocate,  and  afterwards 
Secretary  of  State,  was  elected  Member  of  Parliament  for 
Edinburgh  in  1790,  and  continued  to  represent  the  city  till 
December,  1802,  when  he  was  elevated  to  the  peerage  as 
Baron  Dunira  and  Viscount  Melville. 

Saba  WMlit,  %ixlKi  CB^arl  of  ftdira. 

David  Leslie,  sixth  Earl  of  Leven.  who  was  for 

1802 

about  twenty  years  Lord  High  Commissioner,  re- 
presenting the  Sovereign  at  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland  in  Edinburgh,  was  bom  in  1722.  He 
took  great  pleasure  in  the  annual  display  at  his  official  pro- 
cessions in  the  capital  of  Scotland,  which  in  those  days  were 
denominated  the  Commissioner  ^^  walking,**  when  he  was 
wont  to  be  acccHnpanied  by  a  number  of  the  Scottish  no- 
bility, equipped  in  their  court  habiliments.  He  held  this 
official  appointment  up  to  the  commencement  of  the  nine- 
teenth centuiy.  He  died  in  Edinburgh  1802.  He  resided 
many  years  in  Nicolson's  Square,  and  latterly  at  St.  An- 
drews Square. 


*  Byron  here  alltidee  to  the  Earl  of  Aherdeen,  the  recent  prime  minister 
of  Great  Britain. 


294  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

In  1803  a  literary  clab  was  established  in  £din* 

180B. 

bur^hi  somewhat  after  the  manner  of  Wills's  in 
London.  The  Edinburgh  one  originated  with  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  and  met  every  Friday  evening.  Among  its  members 
were,  Henry  Mackenzie,  Walter  Scott,  Francis  Jeffrey, 
John  Playfair,  Dugald  Stewart,  Archibald  Alison,  Sicbiey 
Smith,.  George  Cranstoon,  Henry  Brougham,  J.  A.  Mnrray, 
Henry  Cockbum,  Francis  Homer,  Thomas  Campbell,  John 
Robison,  the  Earl  of  Selkirk,  Andrew  Rutherfurd,  Leonard 
Homer,  James  Pillans,  Count  Flahault,  the  Earl  of  Minto, 
William  Murray  of  Henderland,  and  James  Abercromby, 
now  Lord  Dunfermline. 

On  4th  January  1803,  Charles  Hope,  Lord  Advocate, 
afterwards  Lord  President  of  the  Court  of  Session,  was 
chosen  member  for  the  city  in  place  of  Lord  Melville.  On 
the  renewal  of  the  war  after  the  short  peace  of  Amiens,  the 
Edinburgh  volunteers  were  again  embodied,  and  the  first 
regiment,  commanded  by  Charles  Hope,  the  Lord  Advocate, 
on  22d  September  1803,  paraded  in  St.  Andrews  Square, 
and  marched  to  the  Cross,  where  they  received  their  ban- 
ners from  the  Lord  Provost. — The  following  month  the 
Earl  of  Moira,  Conmiander  of  the  Forces  in  Scotland, 
reviewed  all  the  military  then  in  Edinbmrgh,  amounting  to 
about  10,000  men,  on  Portobello  sands. 

James  Sibbald,  a  well  known  literary  character  and 
bibliopole  in  Edinburgh,  was  bom  in  Roxburghshire, 
1 748.  After  being  a  farmer  he  came  to  Auld  Reekie,  a  name 
by  which  the  Old  Town  of  Edinburgh  was  often  designated, 
and,  purchasmg  Allan  Ramsay's  circulating  library,  became 
a  bookseller  in  the  Parliament  Square.  He  established  the 
Edinburgh  Magazine,  of  which  he  was  publisher,  proprietor, 
and  editor,  in  1783.  He  was  editor  of  a  newspaper  called 
the  Edinburgh  Herald  in  1792.    His  '  Chronicle  of  Scottish 


1803.  ANKAL&  295 

Poetry  and  Glossary  of  the  Scottish  Language'  appeared 
in  4  vols.  IZmOy  in  1800.  Sibbald  died  in  Edinburgh  in 
1803. 


Dr.  John  Erskine,  the  Colleague  of  Principal 
Robertson,  died  at  Edinburgh  19th  January  1808. 
It  -was  remarkable  that  these  two  distinguished  men  were 
also  leaders  of  their  respective  parties  in  the  Church  of 
Scotland.  Dr.  Erskine  was  bom  in  1721.  His  father  was 
an  advocate,  and  well  known  as  the  author  of  *  Erskine's 
Institutes."  Dr.  Erskine  became  minister  of  Kirkintilloch 
in  1744,  of  Cuh-oss  in  1754,  and  in  1767  he  was  conjoined 
with  Dr.  Robertson  in  the  Old  Greyfriars  Church,  Edin- 
burgh. Sir  Walter  Scott  gives  a  very  excellent  and  graphic 
delineation  of  him  :  ^'  His  external  appearance  was  not  pre- 
possessing. A  remarkable  fair  complexion,  strangely  con* 
trasted  with  a  black  %Aig  without  a  grain  of  powder;  a  nar* 
row  chest  and  a  stoo])ing  posture,  hands  which  placed  like 
props  on  either  side  of  the  pulpit  seemed  necessary  rather  to 
suppoit  the  person  than  to  assist  the  gesticulation  of  the 
preacher;  no  gown,  not  even  that  of  Geneva,  a  tumbled  / 

band,  and  a  gesture  which  seemed  scarce  voluntarj',  were^^ 
tlie  first  circumstances  which  struck  a  stranger.  H^i'ad 
an  antiquated  turn  both  of  argument  and  metaph6rf  but  it 
only  served  to  give  zest  and  peculiarity  to  the  style  of  elo- 
cution. The  enunciation,  which  at  first  seemed  imperfect 
and  embarrassed,  became,  as  he  warmed  in  his  progress,  ani- 
mated and  distinct." 

A  very  interesting  incident  regarding  the  two  colleagues, 
Robertson  and  Erskine,  occurred  one  Sabbath  at  the  Grev- 
friars.  Dr.  Robertson,  in  his  discoturse  in  the  forenoon,  said 
that  virtue  is  so  fair  and  beautiful  that  if  she  had  been  per- 
sonified and  visited  the  earth  all  men  would  have  fallen 
down  and  worshipped  her.     Dr.  Erskine  in  the  afternoon 


0 


296  mSTORT  OF  edinbubgh. 

alladed  to  this,  and  said  that  virtue  had  visited  this  world, 
bat  men^  instead  of  falling  down  to  worship  this  perfect 
being,  took  him  and  crucified  him  upon  a  tree. 

James  Tytler,  a  writer  in  the  Encyclopsedia  Bri- 
tannica,  was  bom  in  Forfarshire  about  1750.  He 
received  a  medical  education  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 
While  contributing  to  the  Encyclopsadia  Britannica  in  1776 
he  lived  in  the  house  of  a  washerwoman  at  Duddingston^ 
near  Edinburgh,  and  her  tub  inverted,  formed  his  desk. 
His  remuneration  for  his  literary  labour  was  very  trifling. 
He  carried  on  business  as  a  piinter  within  the  sanctuary  of 
Holyrood.  He  published  a  *  Weekly  Review'  there  for  a 
short  time.'  In  1784  he  experimented  with  an  air  balloon 
which  he  set  off  from  Holyrood,  He  composed  several  songs. 
Bums  alludes  with  surprise  to  such  fine  ballads  being  the 
composition  of  a  poor  printer.  In  1792  he  conducted  a 
periodical  called  ^The  Historical  Register,  or  Edinburgh 
Monthly  Intelligencer.'  He  was  outlawed  as  connected 
with  one  of  the  associations  of  the  Friends  of  the  People  in 
,1793,  and  died  in  America  in  1803.  He  has  been  known 
by  the  name  of  Balloon  Tytler,  which  distinguishes  fix)m  the 
Eraser  Tytler,  or  Woodhouselee  family. 

Sir  Sfamtn  fiHontqtmtvs. 

Sir  James  Montgomery  of  Stanhope,  was  the  son 
of  William  Montgomery,  Esq.  of  Macbiehill  in  the 
county  of  Peebles,  and  was  bom  1721.  In  1764  he  became 
Solicitor  General  for  Scotland,  and  represented  his  native 
county  in  Parliament.  He  was  afterwards  appointed  Lord 
Advocate,  and  in  1777,  Lord  Chief  Baron  of  Exchequer. 
He  was  created  a  Baronet  in  1801,  and  retired  from  public 
life.    Whim,  in  Peebleshire,  was  his  earlier  residence  and 


1804.  ANNALS.  297 

estate;  he  afterwards  purchased  Stanhope,  and  then  resided 
at  Stobo  Castle.  He  died  in  1803.  His  second  son  James, 
sacceeded  to  the  title,  and  represented  Peebles-shire  in  Par- 
liament; be  also  was  for  a  period  Lord  Advocate.  The 
elder  Sir  James  had  long  his  Edinburgh  residence  in  the 
third  story  of  Bishop's  land,  and  afterwards  at  Queensbenry 
boose. 

Rumours  of  an  intended  French  invasion  beean 

1S04. 

to  be  very  prevalent  at  this  period,  and  great  num* 
bers  of  tlie  labouring  classes  in  Edinburgh  volunteered  their 
services  to  break  up  the  roads  in  the  event  of  such  an  occur- 
rence. A  muster  of  these  meu  took  place  on  tlie  Calton 
Hill  on  7th  January  1804,  when,  notwithstanding  great  se- 
verity of  the  weather,  upwards  of  one  thousand  appeared, 
many  of  them  provided  with  spades,  shovels,  and  mattocks, 
ready,  if  necessary,  for  their  volunteered  work. 

%tnlO  ViBtovmt  9untnn. 

Adam  Duncan,  Lord  Viscount  Duncan,  the  hero 

1S04. 

of  Camperdown,  was  bom  at  Dundee  1st  July,  1731. 
His  early  attention  havijig  been  directed  to  the  naval  service, 
he  came  firom  Forfarshire  to  Leith  in  a  carrier's  cart,  and 
proceeded  to  London,  where  he  got  an  appointment  as  mid- 
shipman in  the  Shoreham  frigate.  Li  1761  he  became  a 
post-captain,  and  in  1779  served  under  Rodney  at  the  siege 
of  Gibraltar.  In  1795  as  admiral  he  was  Commander-in- 
chief  in  the  North  Seas.  Two  years  after  his  fleet  mutinied, 
but  his  combined  mildness  and  firmness  put  matters  right. 
On  11th  October  1797,  he  gained  his  great  victory  over  the 
Dutch  fleet  at  Camperdown,  each  fleet  consisting  of  sixteen 
sail  of  the  Une.  He  took  his  antagonist  De  Winter  prisoner. 
A  few  days  after  he  was  gazetted  as  Viscount  Duncan  of 
Camperdown,  with  a  pension  of  £2,000  a-year.  He  married 
in  1779  Miss  Dundas,  daughter  of  the  Lord  President  of 


298  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

the  Court  of  Session,  and  they  were  long  domiciled  in 
George  Square,  Edinburgh.    Lord  Duncan  died  in  1804. 

Sbix  SabtB  tM,  l4ir0  Stmtitt  CUxfL 

Sir  David  Rae  was  bom  1729.  and  educated  at 

1804. 

the  uuiversitj  of  Edinburgh.  He  passed  advocate 
I75I9  and  on  the  death  of  Lord  Auchinleck  in  1782,  he  was 
raised  to  the  bench  as  Lord  Eskgrove.  In  1799  he  suc- 
ceeded MacQueen  of  Brazfield  as  Lord  Justice  Clerk.  In 
1804  he  was  created  a  baronet,  and  died  the  same  year. 

He  was  an  Edinburgh  character  and  celebri^  in  his  way, 
full  of  oddities  and  entities.    He  resided  in  St.  John  Street. 

The  late  Sir  William  Rae  of  St.  Catherines,  Lord  Advo- 
cate, was  one  of  liis  sons. 

Accounts  and  descriptions  of  Edinburgh  by  Scotch- 
men or  natives,  are  sometimes  liable  to  the  suspicion 
of  exaggeration ;  it  is  well,  therefore,  occasionally  to  present  the 
views  of  a  foreigner.  The  following  is  taken  from  a  work  by 
Professor  Frank  of  Wilna,  which  he  published  at  Vienna  in 
1805«  He  says,  '^  The  situation  of  Edinburgh,  the  build- 
ings of  the  new  part  of  the  city,  and  the  views  which  it 
commands,  ai'e,  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  word,  unequalled. 
The  style  of  society  which  prevails  b  easy  and  frank,  and 
the  hospitality  unbounded.  The  University  is  distinguished 
not  only  as  the  foremost  in  Britain,  but  also  as  one  of  the 
first  in  Eorope. — ^Nor  does  the  metropolis  of  Scotland  fail  in 
charitable  establishments. 

^<  Edinburgh  is  divided  into  the  Old  and  New  town.  Its 
eastern  part  lies  between  two  hills,  the  western  extends  over 
a  height,  which  rises  into  a  steep  cliff,  on  whose  summit 
stands  the  Castle.  The  New  town  is  at  the  foot  of  this  cliff. 
It  consists  of  three  parallel  streets,  each  of  which  is  an  Eng- 
lish mile  long.  These  are  intersected,  at  equal  distances, 
by  five  cross  streets.    Each  of  these  streets  is  a  handred 


1805.  ANNALS.  299 

paces  and  upwards  in  breadth ;  and  furnished  with  suitable 
pavements  for  foot  passengers.  The  three  parallel  streets 
terminate  at  both  their  extremities  in  two  beautiful  squares. 
The  houses  are  built  uniformly  throughout  In  a  word^  the 
New  town  resembles  a  regiment  of  soldiers,  divided  into 
companies,  and  standing  three  deep.  The  difis  on  which 
the  Castle  is  built  command  the  most  varied  prospects.  To 
the  east  we  see  the  Old  town,  and  the  neighbouring  sea-port 
of  Leith ;  this  view  is  bounded  by  the  sea.  To  the  north, 
we  have  beneath  us  the  New  town;  a  fruitful  plain  lies 
behind,  bounded  by  a  considerable  arm  of  the  sea,  which 
stretches  far  into  the  land.  To  the  west  lies  a  wide  plain. 
The  view  to  the  south  is  nearly  the  same,  only  that  it  is  more 
confined.  Not  less  romantic  is  the  prospect  which  we  have 
from  the  two  other  hills,  Salisbury  Crags,  and  particularly 
the  Calton  Hill.  A  residence  in  Edinburgh  must  be  par- 
ticularly agreeable  in  winter;  whereas  I  spent  only  a  part 
df  the  months  of  June  and  July,  during  which  a  great  many 
families  fly  to  the  country.  I  have,  however,  formed  a  veiy 
advantageous  idea  of  the  good  style  of  society  which  prevails 
among  the  cultivated  inhabitants  of  Edinburgh.  I  spent 
some  evenings  in  a  most  agreeable  manner  in  a  club  of  lit- 
erary men,  where  among  others  I  became  acquainted  with 
Mackenzie,  Scott,  Brougham,  Sydney  Smith,  and  Jeflrey. 
Hospitality  was  bestowed  freely  without  ostentation.*' 

On  the  promotion  of  Charles  Hope,  Lord  Advocate,  to 
be  Lord  Justice  Clerk,  the  Town  Council,  28th  January 
1805,  elected  the  Hon.  George  Abercromby,  eldest  son  of 
the  late  Sir  Ralph  Abercromby,  to  be  Member  of  Parlia- 
ment for  the  city. 

An  occurrence  in  the  histoiy  of  the  University,  which 
took  place  the  same  year,  caused  a  considerable  sensation  in 
the  literary  and  clerical  circles  of  Edinburgh.  It  consti- 
tuted what  has  been  called  the  Leslie  controversy.  On  12th 
March  1805,  the  Town  Council  appointed  Mr.  John  (after- 
wards Sir  John)  Leslie,  author  of  a  work  ^  On  the  Nature 


300  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

and  Propagation  of  Heat,'  to  the  chair  of  Mathematics,  in 
room  of  Professor  Plajfair  removed  to  the  Natural  Philoso- 
phy class.  A  majority  of  the  clergy  of  Edinborgh  came 
forward  with  a  claim  of  riirht  to  ^  advise''  the  Mairistrates 
on  appointments  to  the  professorial  chairs,  and  remonstrated 
against  Mr,  Leslie's  nomination,  as  they  alleged  that  in  a 
note  r^^rding  cause  and  effect  in  his  work  on  Heat,  he  had 
supported  an  opinion  they  deemed  subversive  of  the  founda- 
tion of  religion.  The  objection  was  discussed  both  in  the 
Presbjrtery  and  the  SenatuB  Academicus.  Several  able 
works  appeared  on  the  occasion;  one  by  Dagald  Stewart, 
another  by  Dr.  Thomas  Brown,  his  valuable  essay  on  Cause 
and  Effect.  The  matter  gave  rise  to  a  long  and  interesting 
discussion,  for  two  days,  in  the  Greneral  Assembly.  Great 
crowds  were  waiting  ta  be  admitted  to  the  pleadings  and 
debate.  The  final  result  was  the  confirmation  of  Mr. 
Leslie's  appointment  to  the  chair. 

If  this  case  of  Professor  Leslie  excited  great  interest 
among  the  literary  circles  of  Edinburgh,  there  was  another 
arose  the  same  year,  affecting  a  distinguished  political  char- 
acter, which  created  a  deeper  interest  not  only  among  the 
citizens  of  Edinburgh  but  even  throughout  the  country 
generally.  It  was  that  of  Henry  Dnndas,  Lord  Viscount  Mel- 
ville. This  nobleman,  a  younger  son  of  Robert  Dundas 
of  Amiston,  was  bom  in  1740, — his  father  and  brother  were 
both  Lord  Presidents  of  the  Court  of  Session.  After  being 
educated  at  the  university  of  Edinburgh  he  passed  advocate 
in  1763,  commenced  his  public  career  as  assessor  to  the 
Magistrates  of  Edinburgh,  became  Solicitor  Greneral  in 
1773,  and  two  years  after,  Lord  Advocate.  He  sat  as 
M.P.  for  the  county  of  Edinburgh  from  1774  till  1782, 
when,  in  the  political  contests  then  going  on,  he,  for  a  short 
while,  represented  an  English  biurgh,  but  from  1784  to 
1790  he  was  again  chosen  for  his  native  county.  He  was 
appointed  Treasurer  to  the  Navy  in  1782,  an  office  which 
he  held,  with  only  a  short  interval,  till  1800.    During  Pitt's 


1805.  AKKAL&  801 

long  tenure  of  power  Dnndas  waB  one  of  his  most  intimate 
fnends  and  principal  coadjutors;  aiding  him  in  his  India 
bill,  he  became  particnlarlj  conversant  with  Oriental  affairs, 
and  was  sabseqnentlj  appointed  President  of  the  Board  of 
Control. 

In  1784  he  carried  a  generous  measure  for  the  restoration 
of  the  Scottish  estates  forfeited  on  account  of  the  rebellion 
of  1745.  He  became  Home  Secretary  of  State  in  1791, 
and  three  years  afterwards  was  transferred  to  the  same  high 
position  for  the  war  department.  In  1800  he  was  appointed 
keeper  of  the  Privy  Seal  for  Scotland,  when  his  son  sue* 
ceeded  him  as  keeper  of  the  Signet.  He  retired  firom  office 
with  Pitt  in  1801,  and  in  the  following  year  was  created 
Viscount  Melville.  On  Pitt*8  return  to  power  as  Premier 
in  1804,  Lord  Melville  became  first  Lord  of  the  Admiralty. 
With  aU  this  political  power  and  patronage  it  can  easily  be 
imagined  what  an  important  personage  this  favoured  son  of 
fortune  became  in  Edinburgh — ^but  now  a  period  of  anxiety 
awaited  him.  The  Commissioners  of  Naval  Inquiry,  in  their 
tenth  report  presented  to  Parliament,  with  reference  to  the 
time  when  Lord  Melville  was  Treasurer  of  the  Navy,  stated, 
that  ^^  however  the  apprehension  of  disclosing  delicate  and 
confidential  transactions  of  government  might  operate  with 
Lord  Melville,  in  withholding  information  respecting  ad- 
vances to  other  departments,  we  do  not  perceive  how  that 
apprehension  can  at  all  account  for  his  refusing  to  state, 
whether  he  derived  any  profit  or  advantage  from  the  use  or 
employment  of  money  issued  for  the  ser\nces  of  the  Navy. 
If  his  Lordship  had  received  into  his  hands  such  monies  as 
were  advanced  by  him  to  other  departments,  and  had  re- 
placed tliem  as  they  were  repaid,  he  could  not  have  derived 
any  profit  or  advantage  firom  such  transactions,  however 
repugnant  they  might  be  to  the  provisions  of  the  legislature, 
for  the  safe  custody  of  public  money .'"  On  8th  April,  1805, 
in  the  House  of  Commons  Mr.  Whitbread  moved  a  series 
of  resolutions  inculpating  Lord  Melville.     Pitt  defended  his 


302  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

friend  with  his  wonted  power,  and  moved  as  an  amendment 
that  the  matter  be  referred  to  a  select  committee,  which 
Canning  seconded.  Pitt  ^^  was  watching  with  intense  ear- 
nestness to  catch  the  first  intimation  of  the  line  "  a  certain 
high  independent  member  would  take.  ^^It  required  no 
little  effort/'  says  Wilberforce  in  his  Diary  of  the  period, 
^^  to  resist  the  fascination  of  that  penetrating  eye,''  bat  Wil- 
berforce voted  for  the  resolutions.  The  house,  on  coming  to 
the  vote,  was  found  to  be  equally  divided — ayes  216,  noes  216. 
The  Speaker  gave  his  casting  vote  in  favour  of  Whitbread's 
motion.  Mr.  Pitt  moved  an  adjournment  for  two  days, 
when  he  intimated  that  Lord  Melville  had  resigned  the 
office  of  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty.  The  House  then 
agreed  to  lay  their  resolutions  before  the  King.  On  the 
6th  May  ^Ir.  Pitt,  evidently  deeply  agitated,  informed  the 
Commons 'that  his  Majesty  had  been  advised  that  the  name 
of  Lord  Melville  should  be  struck  out  of  the  list  of  the  Priw 
Council,  and  that  accordingly  it  would  be  erased  on  the  first 
day  that  a  council  should  be  held. — He  said  he  could  not 
dissemble  that  he  felt  a  deep  and  bitter  pang  at  being  the 
person  to  wiiose  lot  it  fell  to  execute  such  a  painful  du^. 
On  the  11th  June,  Lord  Melville  was  heard  personally  at 
considei*able  length  by  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  sub- 
ject. On  the  24th  of  the  same  month  it  was  resolved  to 
proceed  against  his  lordship  by  impeachment,  and  Mr.  Whit- 
bread  was  appointed  manager  for  the  Commons.  A  com- 
mittee having  drawn  up  the  articles,  they  were  presented  at 
the  bar  of  the  House  of  Lords,  on  9th  July,  1805. 

The  new  Police  BiU  for  Edinburgh  was  passed  10th 
April,  1805,  by  which  the  city  was  divided  into  six  wards. 
The  operation  of  the  Act  commenced  on  15th  May,  when 
the  Town  Guard,  which  had  existed  since  1696,  was  dis- 
banded, with  the  exception  of  two  Serjeants,  two  drummers, 
and  thirty  privates — Mr.  James  Burnet,  the  oldest  captain, 
being  appointed  their  commander.  On  the  15th  July,  the 
Lord  Provost  and  Magistrates  in  their  robes,  the  Sheriff  of 


1805.  ANNALS.  SOS 

the  county,  the  Member  of  Parliament  for  the  city,  and  the 
Commisfiioners  of  Police,  met  in  the  Parliament  Honse,  when 
John  Tait,  Esq.  presented  his  commission  as  the  new  Judge 
of  Police,  and  was  sworn  in.  They  then  walked  in  pro- 
cession— the  streets  lined  with  militaiy — ^to  the  Police  Office, 
Hiddell's  Close,  Lawnmarket  The  Bey.  Sir  Henxy  Mon- 
creiff,  Bart  one  of  the  Commissioners,  opened  the  new  in- 
stitution with  an  impressive  prayer,  and  Judge  Tait  was 
installed  in  his  office  with  a  n€>at  address  from  the  Lord 
Provost,  Sir  William  Fettes,  Bart  of  Wamphray. 

The  Battle  of  Trafalgar  was  fought  21st  October  1805. 
The  accounts  of  this  great  victory  reached  Edinburgh  on 
9th  November.  A  militaxy  display  took  place  on  the  11th, 
and  a  brilliant  illumination  in  the  evening.  The  death  of 
Nelson,  the  hero  of  the  battle,  was  not  the  only  loss  felt  in 
Edinburgh  on  this  occasion.  Amid  the  general  splendour 
of  the  evening  one  street  in  the  New  Town  was  left  dark  in 
sjrmpathy  with  the  feelings  of  the  bereaved  lady  who  resided 
there — ^the  widow  of  Captain  George  Duff  of  the  Mars,  who 
also  fell  in  this  the  greatest  naval  victory  ofjnodem  times. 

ftlcxattSer  WitVOtxbnm,  Garl  of  ttumlsit 

Alexander  Weddei'bum,  afterwards  Lord  Hixrh 
Chancellor  of  England,  was  bom  in  East-Lothian 
1733.  He  received  the  first  pait  of  his  education  at  Dal- 
keith, and  then  attended  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  He 
had  passed  Advocate  when  an  incidental  occurrence  at  the 
Scottish  bar  made  him  doff  his  gown,  and  declare  he  would 
never  again  plead  where  he  was  subjected  to  insult  He 
was  admitted  to  the  English  bar  in  1757.  In  1769  he  was 
a  successful  pleader  in  the  Douglas  cause;  two  years  later  he 
became  Solicitor  Greneral,  and  in  other  two  years  Attorney 
Greneral.  His  firmness  tended  to  quell  the  Lord  George 
Gordon  riots  in  London  in  1780.  Soon  after  he  was  ap- 
pointed Lord  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench,  and  was 


304  mSTORT  OF  EDISBCRGH. 


created  Lord  Looghboroofrh.  He  joined  Pitt  in  1793,  and 
became  Lord  Chancellor  This  high  office  he  held  till  1801, 
when  he  was  created  Earl  of  Etosslyn.  After  his  retirement 
he  showed  the  rivid  recollection  he  had  of  the  localities  of 
his  earlj  lifey  by  being  taken  at  his  own  earnest  desire,  in  a 
chair,  to  Elphinston's  Coort,  South  Gray's  Close,  nearly  op- 
posite the  ancient  Boyal  Mint  of  Scotland.  Here  he  was 
anxious  to  see  some  paved  holes  in  the  court,  where  he  used 
to  play  at  a  juvenile  game,  and  on  seeing  them  the  cid 
gentleman's  sensibilites  were  excited  in  the  highest  degree. 
He  died  2d  Jaifuary,  1805. 

^tmgo  llarlu 

^^  Mungo  Paris,  the  celebrated  African  traveller, 
was  bom  at  Fowlshiells,  in  Selkirkshire,  10th  Sep- 
tember, 1771.  Having  indicated  a  studious  turn  his  fiither 
thought  of  educating  him  for  the  church,  but  he  preferred 
the  medical  profession.  When  aged  fifteen  he  was  bound 
apprentice  to  Mr.  Thomas  Anderson,  Surgeon,  Selkiric.  In 
1789  he  came  to  Edinburgh,  and  attended  the  university  for 
three  sessions.  His  favourite  study  was  Botany.  Sir 
Joseph  Banks  afterwards  got  him  appointed  assbtant  sur- 
geon to  an  East  Indiaman,  and  taking  a  great  interest  in 
the  Association  for  Promoting  Discovery  in  Africa,  in 
their  endeavours  to  ascertain  the  course  of  the  Ni^r,  Sir 
Joseph  cast  his  eyes  on  Park  as  the  man  for  this  adventure. 
Park  sailed  for  the  exploration  of  the  Niger  22d  May,  1795, 
and  returned  in  the  end  of  1797,  and  published  his  deeply 
interesting  travels  in  1799.  On  2d  August  of  that  year  he 
married  Miss  Anderson,  daughter  of  his  former  master. 
He  then  settled  as  a  surgeon  at  Peebles,  but  on  30th  Janu* 
ary  1805,  he  again  set  off  on  another  expedition  for  African 
discovery,  from  which  he  never  returned,  meeting  his  death 
in  crossing  a  river  about  the  end  of  that  year.- 


1805.  ANNAUS.  305 

Six  Jfmen  fttteUng,  ImV  yrabPiit 

The  father  of  this  well-known  civic  dignitaxy  was 
"^-  a  fishmonger  in  Edinburgh.  The  «»n  became  a 
partner  in  the  respectable  banking  house  of  Mansfield, 
Bamsay  and  C!o.,  and  married  Miss  Mansfield.  In  1790 
he  was  elected  Lord  Provost  of  Edinburgh.  At  the  riots 
that  took  place  in  Edinburgh  in  1792  about  Burgh  Reform, 
when  it  was  proposed  to  bum  Mr.  Secretary  Dundas — the 
future  Lord  Melville — in  effigv,  the  Lord  Provost  Stirling 
became  unpopular  among  the  lower  classes.  He  was  created 
a  baronet  in  1792. 

The  thanks  of  the  royal  burghs  of  Scotland  were  voted  to 
him  at  Edinburgh  in  1799,  for  his  pubUc  services  in  obtain- 
ing convoys  for  Scottish  merchant  vessels  to  protect  them 
from  French  privateers.    He  died  in  1805. 

The  House  of  Commons  ainreed,  on  10th  March 

1806*  ^^ 

1806,  to  an  additional  article  of  impeachment 
against  Lord  Melville.  Westminster  Hall  was  fitted  up  for 
the  trial,  which  commenced  29th  April  of  that  year,  and 
continued  sixteen  days,  terminating  on  the  12th  'June,  when 
the  Peers,  by  a  large  majority,  pronounced  Lord  MehiUe 
not  guilty,  and  he  was  acquitted  accordingly. 

The  intelligence  of  Lord  Melville's  acquittal  reached  Edin- 
burgh on  16th  June.  Several  houses  and  shops  were  illumi- 
nated on  the  occasion,  and  next  day  the  Lord  Provost,  Magis- 
trates, and  Council,  gave  a  dinner  at  Fortune's  Hotel  to  a 
number  of  the  principal  inhabitants,  and  a  public  dinner 
took  place  in  the  Assembly  Rooms,  George  Street,  on  27  th 
of  the  same  month,  the  Earl  of  Haddington  in  the  chair, 
between  500  and  600  gentlemen  present. 

The  general  impression  seems  now  to  be  that  Lord  Mel- 
ville was  a  man  of  a  good  natured,  easy  disposition,  who  had 
allowed  his  pecuniary  affairs  to  be  managed  by  others  with- 
out minute  inquiry  himself,  and  was  thus  brought  into  a 

u 


306  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBOH. 

painfttl  position  by  the  application  of  public  money  to  pnr- 
pofles  of  which  he  was  not,  bat  shoold  have  been  cognisant. 

The  first  exhibition  of  painlings  by  the  artists  of  Edin- 
burgh took  place  in  a  large  room  in  Nicolson  Street, 
called  the  Lyceum,  about  this  period,  and  was  creditable 
for  a  first  attempt.  For  many  subsequent  years  a  similar 
annual  exhibition  took  place  in  the  house  of  Mr.  afterwards 
Sir  Henry  Kaebum,  York  Place,  to  whom  the  artbts 
allowed  £100  a^year  for  the  use  of  his  gallery.  This  was 
followed  afterwards  by  the  exhibitions  of  the  Royal  Institu- 
tion and  the  Scottish  Academy,  which  have  tended  greatly 
to  improve  Scottish  ait. 

Seldom  any  crime  excited  a  deeper  sensation  in  Edin- 
burgh than  a  cold-blooded  murder  which  took  place  on 
the  week  of  HaUow  Fair,  13th  November,  1806.  The 
porter  of  the  British  Linen  Company's  bank  was  stabbed 
and  robbed  in  Tweeddale  Court  while  carrying  a  large 
sum  of  money.  A  reward  of  five  hundred  guineas  was 
offered  for  the  discovery  of  the  murderer,  but  he  was  not 
traced.  Many  years  afterwards  it  was  understood  that  a 
noted  character  who  was  found  guilty  under  vexy  remark- 
able circumstances  of  robbing  the  Paisley  Union  bank  was 
the  person  guilty  of  the  murder.  This  man  died  in  Edin- 
burgh prison  when  under  sentence  of  death  for  the  above 
crime.  This  murder  cast  a  sort  of  gloom  for  a  period  over 
Edinburgh. 

Benfamtsi  fitll* 

Benjamin  Bell,  an  eminent  surgeon  in  Edinburgh, 
was  bom  at  Dumfties,  1749.  He  became  a  pupil 
at  Edinburgh  university  in  1766,  and  after  studying  at 
Paris,  commenced  business  in  Edinburgh,  1772.  His  ^  Sys- 
tem of  Surgery'  appeared  in  six  volumes  8vo,  in  1778,  and 
ran  through  seven  editions,  the  last  being  extended  to  seven 
volumes.    Dr.  Bell  died  4th  April   1806.    He  was  the 


1806.  ANN  ALB.  307 

father  of  three  well-known  Edinburgh  citizens,  Mr.  Bobert 
Bell,  Advocate  Procurator  for  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
William  Bell  of  Hunthill,  W.  S.,  and  Joseph  Bell,  long  an 
excellent  medical  practitioner  in  Edinburgh. 


Vintttxt  %uwitOit 

Vincent  Lunardi,  a  name  at  one  time  celebrated 
in  Edinburgh.  He  was  a  young  Italian,  famous  as 
an  aeronaut,  who  came  to  the  capital  of  Scotland  in  1784, 
and  lodged  in  Walker^s  Hotel.  James  Tytler,  known  as 
Balloon  Tytler,  was  the  first  man  who  experimented  with 
these  aerial  carriages  in  Edinburgh.  Lunardi  exhibited 
his  splendid  balloon  in  the  Parliament  Square,  and  an* 
nounced  that  he  would  set  off  in  it  on  an  aerial  voyage  from 
the  green  of  Heriot's  Hospital,  5th  October  1784.  This 
became  a  holiday  in  the  city,  and  nearly  100,000  spectators 
were  assembled  to  witness  the  novel  undertaking.  The 
balloon  and  car  rose  about  three  o'clock,  and  Lunardi  passed 
over  the  ci^  at  a  considerable  height.  The  wind  carried 
him  near  North  Berwick,  then  near  Leven  and  Largo  in 
Fife.  After  a  voyage  of  an  hour  and  a  half  he  descended 
safely  at  Ceres,  to  the  astonishment  of  the  simple  natives  of 
the  place,  some  reapers  in  the  field  deeming  him  and  the 
sound  of  his  trumpet  something  supernatural.  On  20th 
December  1784,  he  made  a  second  ascent  fix)m  Heriot's 
Hospital  green.  He  was  on  this  occasion  dressed  in  the 
costume  of  the  royal  archers,  and  provided  with  a  life  pre- 
server in  case  of  danger.  After  an  hour's  excursion  he 
landed  near  GuUan,  and  was  rescued  from  his  car  by  some 
fishermen.  On  31st  July  1786  he  made  his  third  and  last 
ascent  from  Edinburgh  at  the  same  spot;  the  current  of 
%vind  being  slight,  his  descent  was  only  two  miles  from  the 
city.  The  popular  feeling  is  easily  led  in  any  direction — at 
that  time  in  Edinburgh  every  thing  was  "  Lunardi."     The 


308  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

ladies  wore  Lanardi  bonnets.  Bums  alludes  to  this  in  one 
of  his  poems,  speaking  of  ^^  Miss's  fine  Lanardi.**  This 
aeronaut  di^  in  1806* 


Edinburgh  lost  one  of  her  most  useful  citizens  by 
the  death  of  Sir  William  Forbes  12th  November 
1806.  He  was  bom  in  Edinburgh  5th  April  1739.  He 
received  an  excellent  education  when  under  the  guardian- 
ship of  his  two  uncles,  Lords  Forbes  and  Pitsh'go.  He 
served  an  apprenticeship  in  the  banking  house  of  Coutts 
and  Co.,  and  became  a  partner  of  the  concern  in  1761,  and 
two  years  afterwards  the  well-known  firai  of  Sir  William 
Forbes,  J.  Hunter  and  Co.,  was  formed.  In  178S  they  be- 
gan to  issue  notes,  which  were  received  as  readily  through- 
out Scotland  as  the  coin  of  the  realm.  In  1786  he  filled  the 
office  of  Master  of  the  Merchant  Company,  but  firequently 
declined  representing  the  city  in  Parliament.  He  also  re- 
fused an  Irish  peerage.  At  one  time  he  was  a  member  of 
the  celebrated  London  Literary  Club,  where  he  became  ac- 
quainted with  Samuel  Johnson,  Sir  Joshua  Beynolds,  and 
other  eminent  literati.  He  wrote  a  life  of  Dr.  Beattie,  which 
appeared  in  1806,  and  passed  through  several  editions.  He 
took  a  most  active  part  in  the  originating  and  management 
of  many  of  the  Edinburgh  philanthropic  institutions. 

'    The  foundation-stone  of  Nelson's  Monument  was 

1807 

laid  in  the  presence  of  a  small  number  of  citizens 
on  the  morning  of  the  31st  October,  1807,  on  the  Calton 
Hill.  As  an  architectural  production,  it  is  of  a  nondescript 
character.  The  view  from  the  top  is  remarkably  fine,  and 
has  been  considered  one  of  the  most  splendid  in  Europe, 
consequently  very  interesting  to  strangers. 


1807.  AKNAL&  309 

Alexander  Wood,  a  well-known  Edinborgh  char- 
acter of  very  considerable  talent,  benevolence,  and 
eccentricity,  was  the  youngest  son  of  Mr.  Wood  of  Warriston 
in  the  county  of  Mid-Lothian.  His  father  was  the  occupier 
of  a  farm  which  figures  in  the  earlier  maps  of  Edinburgh, 
and  was  situated  near  the  north  end  of  Queen  Street,  and 
popularly  known  by  the  name  of  Wood's  Farm,  at  a  time 
when  the  grounds  which  now  form  the  New  town  of  Edin- 
burgh were  country  quarters,  and  the  scene  where  shoodng 
and  other  rural  sports  were  enjoyed  by  the  gentry.  '^  Lcmg 
Sandy  Wood^'  the  soubriquet  by  which  this  excellent  man 
was  known  in  Edinburgh,  was  bom  there  in  1725.  He 
studied  at  the  University,  and  began  business  as  a  surgeon 
at  Musselburgh,  and  afterwards  removed  to  Edinburgh, 
where  he  entered  into  partnership  with  Battray  and  Con- 
gleton.  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  Guy  Mannering,  alludes  to  a 
raven  that  was  a  pet  of  this  kind  surgeon,  for  he  was  fond  of 
the  dumb  animals,  and  there  was  a  sheep  which  was  wont  to 
pasture  in  the  grounds  now  pertaining  to  the  Boyal  Bank 
in  St.  Andrews  Square,  which  used  to  wait  for  him  daily  to 
feed  from  his  friendly  hand.  Wood  had  a  gruff  but  in 
reality  kindly  way  with  his  patients,  which  they  thoroughlj' 
understood.— He  died  in  Edinburgh  in  1807.  His  son, 
George  Wood,  was  also  widely  known  as  a  medical  prac- 
titioner, and  his  grandson  Alexander  Wood,  as  an  acute  and 
distinguished  lawyer,  became  Dean  of  the  Faculty  of  Advo- 
cates, and  now  adorns  the  supreme  bench  as  Lord  Wood. 

The  Lord  Provost,  Donald  Smith,  on  the  28th 

1808.        •  . 

April,  1808,  gave  a  splendid  entertainment  to  Vis- 
count Cathcart,  and  a  number  of  the  nobility  and  citizens, 
on  presenting  his  lordship  widi  a  congratulatory  address. 
The  address  was  enclosed  in  a  gold  box  of  great  value  and 
exquisite  workmanship,  inscribed  "  From  the  Lord  Provost 


310  HISTORT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

Magistrates,  and  Town  Cooncil  of  Edinburgh,  to  the  Right 
Hon.  Lord  Yiscoant  Cathcart,  Commanding  his  Majesty's 
Forces  in  Scotland,  victorioos  at  Copenhagen,  7th  Septem- 
ber, 1807,  to  mark  their  high  esteem  of  his  military  talents, 
valonr  and  hnmanity,  manifested  in  that  memorable  expe- 
dition; also  to  express  their  sense  of  his  uniform  regard  to 
the  interests  of  the  metropolis  of  Scotland." 

Z^t  Court  of  ZtMimu 

The  Court  of  Session  was  originally  instituted  in  1532. 
Prior  to  that,  civil  causes  were  tried  by  an  ambulatory  Com- 
mittee of  Parliament,  and  even  after  the  erection  of  the 
Court  of  Session  it  sometimes  met  in  other  towns  besides 
Edinburgh.  In  1808,  the  court,  which  consisted  of  fif- 
teen judges,  was  divided  into  two  chambers,  and  on  20th 
October  that  year,  the  Court  assembled  for  the  first  time 
under  this  new  arrangement,  when  the  Solicitor-General, 
Robert  Blair  of  Avonton,  a  man  of  the  highest  legal  char- 
acter and  acquirements,  presented  bis  letter  of  appointment 
as  Lord  President  in  room  of  Sir  Hay  Campbell  resigned, 
and  on  the  12th  November  following,  their  lordships  pro- 
ceeded to  the  despatch  of  business, — the  following  being  the 
arrangement  of  the  judges : 

Firit  DiviMton.  Second  Dwiiion, 

Lord  PassiDBNT  (Blair),  Lord  Jtjsticb  Clsbk  (Gh.  Hope), 
Lord  Donsinnan,  Lord  Polksmmot, 

Lord  Craig,  Lord  Glbnlsb, 

Lord  a»^^^"^t.»^  Lord  Mbadowbavk, 

^ORD  Bannattnb,  Lord  Cullev, 

Lord  Balmttto,  Lord  Bobertson, 

Lord  Hbrmand,  Lord  Newtok. 

Lord  Woodhouselke. 

Sr*  3famt%  JFtttlaa^on. 

Dr.  James  Finlayson  was  bom  in  the  parish  of 

1806. 

Dunblane  in  1758.     After  receiving  his  education. 


1808.  AKKALS.  311 

he  was  employed  as  amanuensis  by  Professor  Anderson  of 
Glasgow,  and  then  became  tator  to  Sir  Patrick  Murray  of 
Ochtertyre,  afterwards  M.P.  for  Edinburgh^  and  his  brother 
Sir  George  Murray.  He  was  ordained  minister  of  Borth- 
wick  in  1787,  and  during  his  incumbency  there,  also  filled 
the  Logic  chair  in  Edinburgh  University.  He  was  ap- 
pointed minister  of  Lady  Tester's  church,  Edinburgh,  in 
1790,  and  became  colleague  to  Dr.  Blair  in  the  High  Church 
1799.  He  afterwards  wrote  the  Life  of  Blair,  appended  to 
his  Sermons.  He  was  an  active  leader  in  the  Scottish 
Church  Courts  on  the  moderate  side,  and  was  esteemed  a 
good  logician.     He  died  28th  January,  1808. 

John  Home,  the  author  of  the  trairedy  of  ^  Dou- 

1808.  ^^ 

glas,'  was  born  in  Boxburghshire  1724.  He  re- 
ceived his  edacation  at  Edinburgh.  At  the  rebellion  in 
1745  he  entered  the  royal  army,  and  was  taken  prisoner  at 
the  Battle  of  Falkirk.  He  became  minister  of  Athelstane- 
ford  in  East-Lothian  in  1750.  His  tragedy  of  '  Douglas ' 
was  brought  forward  at  the  Edinburgh  Theatre  in  1756, 
and  created  a  considerable  commotion  in  Scotland,  from  the 
rare  occurrence  of  a  clergyman  producing  an  acting  drama. 
The  matter  was  brought  before  the  Presbyterian  courts,  and 
he  ultimately  resigned  his  living.  In  1778  he  became  a 
captain  in  the  Duke  of  Bnccleuch's  regiment  of  Fencibles, 
and  died  4th  September,  1808.  He  also  wrote  a  ^  History 
of  the  B.ebellion.'  He  mingled  much  among  the  literal}' 
circles  of  Edinburgh. 

Or*  STameis  SnDerKon* 

Dr.  James  Anderson   was  born   at  Hermiston, 

county  of  Edinburgh  1739.     He  began  his  literarj* 

lucubrations  in   Buddiman's  Weekly  Magazine  in  1771. 


312  mSTORT  OF  EDIMBUBQH. 

He  left  his  farm  in  the  neighbomlioody  and  came  to  reside  in 
Edinburgh  in  1783.  Two  years  afterwards  his  ^  Account 
of  the  present  State  of  the  Hebrides  and  Western  Coasts ' 
appeared.  He  published  a  cnrions  and  amosing  literary 
Miscellany  in  weekly  nombos  from  1790  to  1794.  This 
was  a  volominons  work,  and  was  entitled  ^  The  Bee/  He 
wrote  his  ^  Becreations  in  Agricultore '  in  the  Monthly  Re- 
view.   This  laborioos  writer  died  15th  October,  1808. 

Dr.  Alexander  Adam,  the  venerable  Bector  of  the 

1A09 

High  School,  died  at  Edinburgh  18th  October,  1809. 
He  was  bom  in  Morayshire  1741,  and  raised  himself  by  his 
own  educational  industry,  became  a  teacher  in  Watson's 
Hospital,  Edinbui^h  in  1761,  and  Hector  of  the  High 
School  in  1771.  He  published  his  ^ Latin  Grammar'  in 
1772.  His  ^  Boman  Antiquities,'  ^  Greography  and  Latin 
Dictionary,'  are  all  works  of  great  research  and  learning. 
At  the  High  School  he  was  a  strict  disciplinarian;  notwith- 
standing this  he  was  a  favourite  with  the  boys.  As  Bector, 
he  made  a  montlily  visit  to  each  of  the  other  classes,  and 
this  was  always  looked  forward  to  by  the  pupils  with  great 
awe.  During  his  long  incumbency  he  educated  the  elite  of 
the  Edinburgh  citizens.  Such  was  the  estimation  in  which 
he  was  held  that  a  public  funeral  took  place.  The  masters 
and  pupils  were  marshalled  at  the  school,  and  amounting  to 
about  six  hundred,  walked  in  procession,  followed  by  the 
Magistrates  and  Council,  Principal  and  Professors  of  the 
University,  and  about  seven  hundred  gentlemen  including 
the  judges  and  ministers. 

The  25th  October,  1809,  was  held  as  a  Jubilee 

throughout  Great  Britain,  Greorge  HI.  having  then 

entered  on  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  reign.     In  Edinburgh  a 

procession  took  place  to  lay  the  foundation-stone  of  a  bastion 


1810.  ANNAL8.  313 

at  Leith  Docks, — ^the  Earl  of  Moira,  afterwards  Marquis  of 
Hastings,  officiating  on  the  occasion.  A  feu  de  joie  was  fired 
by  the  regiments  of  militia  on  the  Castle^hili;  sermons 
were  preached  in  all  the  churches,  and  collections  made  in 
aid  of  the  debtors  in  the  city  prison.  A  public  dinner  took 
place  in  the  Assembly  Booms,  and  in  the  evening  a  brilliant 
illumination. 


Dr.  Andrew  Hunter  was  the  son  of  Mr.  Andrew 

1809«  ___ 

Hunter  of  Park,  Writer  to  the  Signet.  He  was 
bom  in  Edinburgh  1743,  and  studied  at  the  Universi^ 
there.  He  was  a  man  of  quiet  unostentatious  piety,  and 
simple  mild  manners.  He  became  one  of  the  ministers  of 
Dumfries  in  1770,  and  about  the  same  time  proprietor  of 
Barjarg  in  that  county.  Nine  years  after  he  was  appointed 
minister  of  New  Greyfriars,  Edinburgh,  and  in  1786  min- 
ister of  the  Tron  church,  where  he  long  officiated,  and  was 
held  in  the  highest  respect  by  his  congregation.  He  was 
Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and 
Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  in  1792.  He  died 
1809.  His  excellent  and  respected  son,  Dr.  John  Hunter, 
is  now  one  of  the  ministers  of  the  Tron  church.  Dr.  An- 
drew Hunter  published  some  occasional  sermons. 

The  chief  magistrate  of  the  city,  Lord  Provost 
Coulter,  having  died  in  office,  a  very  gorgeous  pub- 
lic funeral  took  place  in  Edinburgh,  21st  April  1810;  in  fact 
it  was  conducted  with  a  parade  and  show  that  was  greatly 
overdone.*  Coulter  was  a  plain  and  illiterate  citizen. 
Vanity  was  his  weak  point,  therefore,  for  his  biographical 
sketch  we  can  only  give  an  anecdote  or  two  illustrative  .of 

*  Id  the  Appendix  to  this  Tolame  will  be  fotmd  a  notice  of  the 
Chief  Magistrates  of  Edinburgh  whose  decease  occurred  during  their  tenure 
of  office. 


314  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

this.  A  man  on  the  street  once  inquired  at  him  the  rent  of 
a  house  opposite.  ^^  How  do  70a  think  I  should  know  that?" 
said  the  civic  dignitary.  ^^  Oh,  Sir/'  replied  he,  <^  I  thought 
all  Edinburgh  was  yours/*  That  pleased  the  alderman, 
the  title  he  had  formerly  assumed  in  London,  as  equivalent 
to  the  Scottish  one  of  Bailie.  On  another  occasion,  when 
his  health  was  given,  he  said  he  could  assure  the  company 
that  though  he  had  the  body  of  a  stocking-weaver,  he  had 
the  soul  of  a  Sheepio  Afreecantta  (Scipio  Africanus).  When 
once  recounting  the  various  civic  offices  he  held,  and  the 
different  institutions  over  which  he  was  a  gdvemory  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Hunter  very  quietly  said  to  him,  "'Tis  a  pity  but 
you  had  been  an  author,  Bailie,  you  would  have  filled  up 
an  excellent  ft'^^page." 

Another  remark  of  this  learned  civic  dignitary  was  that 
'^  We  live  in  a  great  area"  (era). 

SabOr  9erD* 

David  Herd  was  bom  in  Kincardineshire  in  1732. 
He  filled  the  situation  of  an  accountant's  clerk  in 
Edinburgh  for  many  years.  He  edited  a  collection  of 
ancient  and  modem  Scottish  Songs  and  Ballads,  which  was 
published  at  Edinburgh  in  2  volumes,  in  1772,  and  was  a 
contributor  to-  several  of  the  periodicals.  He  aided  Sir 
Walter  Scott  considerably  in  his  Minstrelsy  of  the  Scottish 
Border.    He  died  in  1810. 

lorD  llmiflinit  iSIam 

Robert  Blair  of  Avontoun,  Lord  President  of  the 

1811. 

Court  of  Session,  one  of  the  most  upright  and  ac- 
complished men  who  ever  sat  on  the  judicial  bench,  died 
suddenly  at  his  house  in  Gkorge  Square,  20th  May  1811. 
He  was  bom  at  Athelstaneford  in  1741.  EBs  father  was  the 
author  of  the  beautiful  and  philosophic  poem,  ^  The  Grave.' 


1811.  ANKALS.  815 

He  passed  advocate  in  1764,  became  Solicitor-General  in 
1789,  dean  of  the  Faculty  of  Advocates  in  1801,  and 
reached  the  highest  seat  on  the  bench  in  1808.  Henrj' 
Dtindas,  Viscoant  Melville,  and  he,  had  formed  an  early  inti- 
macy, and  on  his  death  his  friend,  Lord  Melville,  came  to 
Edinburgh  to  attend  the  funeral,  but  unexpectedly  died  the 
very  morning  of  the  obsequies,  at  the  adjoining  domicile, — 
the  house  of  his  son-in-law,  Bobert  Dundas  of  Amiston, 
Lord  Chief  Baron  of  Scotland. 

Admiral  Sir  Sydney  Smith,  the  hero  of  Acre, 
arrived  in  Edinburgh  19th  August  1811,  and  two 
days  after  the  Magistrates  conferred  the  freedom  of  the  city 
on  this  gallant  officer,  to  mark  the  sense  entertained  of  his 
services  to  the  country.  Wherever  he  went  in  the  dty  he 
was  received  by  the  inhabitants  with  great  distinction. 


James  Orahame,  the  author  of  'The  Sabbath,' 

1811. 

was  bom  in  Glasgow,  22d  April  1765.  He  became 
apprentice  to  his  cousin,  Mr.  Lawrence  Hill,  Writer  to  the 
Signet  in  Edinburgh,  and  after  practising  as  a  Writer  for 
some  years  he  passed  Advocate.  He  had  long  shown  a  pre- 
dilection for  poetry.  He  published  'The  Sabbath'  anony- 
mously; on  his  wife  reading  it,  ignorant  of  her  husband 
being  the  author,  she  said,  ''  Ah  James !  if  you  could  but 
produce  a  poem  like  this."  He  resided  for  some  years  at 
Kirkhill,  near  Edinburgh.  He  now  quitted  the  bar  and 
was  ordained  as  an  EpiscopaUan  minister.  On  a  vacancy 
in  St.  Greorge's  Chapel,  Edinburgh,  he  became  a  candidate, 
but  though  his  excellence  as  a  preacher  was  acknowledged, 
he  did  not  obtain  this  charge,  but  was  afterwards  appointed 
curate  of  Sedgefield  in  Durham.  He  died  near  Glasgow, 
14th  September  1811. 


316  mSTORT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 


9^f^  It^HttL 


1811. 


John  Leydeiiy  the  aathor  of  ^The  Scenes  of 
Infancy/  was  bom  in  Bozburghshire  8th  September 
1775.  He  early  displayed  a  taste  for  poetry.  He  studied 
at  the  University  of  Edinburgh  under  Dagald  Stewart, 
whose  successor.  Dr.  Thomas  Brown,  was  one  of  his  early 
friends.  In  the  session  1797-8  he  was  at  St.  Andrews, 
and  was  member  of  a  debating  society  there  with  Lord 
Campbell  and  Dr.  Chalmers,  then  his  fellow-students. 
Subsequently  he  resided  for  some  years  in  Edinburgh, 
where  he  became  intimate  with  Henry  Mackenzie,  Lord 
Woodhouselee,  Walter  Scott,  and  others  of  the  highest 
literary  character.  He  was  licensed  as  a  preacher  in  1800. 
The  Edinburgh  Magazine  and  the  Scots  Magazine  were 
united  in  1^02,  and  Leyden  became  for  a  time  the  editor. 

Leyden  had  displayed  considerable  philological  genius, 
and  it  was  thought  by  his  friends  that  he  was  weU  fitted  for 
investigating  the  languages  and  literature  of  the  Indian 
tribes.  He  now  studied  surgery  with  his  characteristic 
ardour,  and  was  appointed  Assistant  Surgeon  on  the  Madras 
establishment.  In  April  1803  he  sailed  for  India,  where, 
after  a  highly  honourable  career  in  the  pursuit  of  learning, 
he  accompanied  Lord  Minto  in  the  expedition  to  Java,  and 
died  there  of  a  short  illness,  28th  August  1811.  Leyden 
was  a  singular  being,  full  of  the  eccentricities  of  genius,  but 
a  kind  and  generous  man,  most  beloved  by  those  who  knew 
him  best. 

,^,^        A  custom  "  more  honoured  in  the  breach  than  in 

lalZ 

the  observance,'"  had  long  prevailed  in  Edinburgh, 
of  ushering  in  the  new  year  with  boisterous  merriment  in 
the  streets.  This  led,  on  the  public  clocks  of  the  High 
Street  announcing  the  advent  of  the  year  1812,  to  riots 
of  the  most  serious  description;  a  band  of  young  men  at- 
tacked all  whom  they  met,  committed  many  robberies,  and 


1312.  ANNAI&  317 

mardered  a  policeman.    Three  of  the  ctdprits  were  executed 
on  a  gibbet  erected  in  the  High  Street,  22d  April,  1812. 

A  new  and  improved  Police  Bill  for  Edinburgh  was  ob- 
tained in  1812,  and  the  Police  Court  conducted  under  a  sti- 
pendiarr  Magistrate  was  closed  in  July  that  year;  and 
tliereafter  the  unpaid  Magistrates  of  Edinburgh  officiated 
as  judges  on  petty  crimes  under  this  new  Act. 

yrofenMt  SUexaiitm  ^itrr«(. 

A  very  remarkable  man  was  elected  Professor  of 

1812. 

Oriental  languages  in  the   University,  8th  July, 

1812,  the:  Rev.  Alexander  Murray,  minister  of  Urr.     He 

was  born  in  Kirkcudbrightshire  in  1775,  and  was  educated 

at  Edinburgh  University;  being  of  poor  parentage,  a  city 

bursary  was  obtained  for  him,  and  he  showed  such  a  natural 

taste  for  Oriental  literature  and  the  acquisition  of  languages, 

that  he  came  to  be  unrivaQed  in  that  respect,  and  a  few  years 

before  his  appointment  to  the  professorship  was  found  to  be 

the  only  person  in  the  British  dominions,  or  probably  in 

Europe,  who  was  able  to  translate  into  English  a  letter  from 

the  Emperor  of  Abyssinia  to  the  King  of  Great  Britain. 

Unfortunately  the  name  of  this  extraordinary  linguist  only 

shed  a  lustre  over  the  University  of  Edinburgh  for  a  short 

period,  as  he   died  15th  April   of  the  year  following  his 

election  to  the  chair. 

9nirs,  Ottiu  of  HuttUnt^. 

A  venerable  old  crentleman,  well-known  in  Edin- 

1612. 

burgh,  and  who  might  be  designated  as  one  of  its 
citizens,  died  11th  January,  1812,  Henry  Scott,  Duke  of 
Buccleuch  and  Queensbeny.  He  was  of  quiet,  plain,  and 
unpretending  habits,  used  frequently  to  walk  the  streets  as 
an  ordinary  citizen — and  of  easy  access  to  all  classes.  He 
long  commanded  a  regiment  of  Fencibles  in  the  Castle.    As 


318  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

an  amiuing  specimen  of  the  simplicity  of  his  manners,  it  was 
said  that  on  one  occasion  on  his  waj  to  the  regiment^  a 
country  girl,  ignorant  of  his  rank,  accosted  him  on  the 
esplanade  with:  ^^  Soldier,  my  man,  can  you  tell  me  where 
ril  find  my  brither  Will.''  He  kindly  listened  to  her,  and 
learning  that  her  brother  was  a  private  in  his  regiment,  took 
her  under  his  escort.  On  passing  the  sentinels  at  the  Castle 
gate  they  presented  arms  to  the  Duke.  She,  surprised, 
asked  the  meaning  of  that.  The  Duke  humorously  re- 
plied, "  It's  either  to  you  or  me."  On  reaching  the  regi- 
ment, then  under  parade,  her  brother^s  astonishment  at 
the  scene  may  be  conceived.  He  enquired  if  she  knew  who 
that  was.  She  said,  ^^  I  dinna  ken  wha  he  is,  but  he's  a 
very  ci\'il  lad.''  On  hearing  that  it  was  the  colonel  of  the 
regiment, — the  Duke  of  Buccleuch — her  surprise  may  be 
imagined.  The  Scotts  of  Buccleuch  have  always  been 
famed  for  their  consideration  for  the  feelings  and  welfare  of 
others.  ^^  Live,  and  let  live,"  is  understood  to  be  the  axiom 
on  which  the  Buccleuch  family  have  always  been  trained. 

Alexander  Fraser  Tytler,  Lord  Woodhouselee, 
was  bom  in  Edinburgh,  15th  October,  1747,  and 
died  there  5th  January,  1813.  He  was  educated  at  the 
High  School,  and  was  dux  of  the  Hector's  class.  He  passed 
Advocate  in  1770,  and  was  appointed  Professor  of  Uni- 
versal History  in  1780.  His  prelections  were  so  excellent 
and  became  so  popular,  that  two  years  after  he  published 
'  Outlines '  of  his  course.  He  wrote  in  the  Mirror  and 
Lounger.  His  Essay  on  the  principles  of  Translation  was 
published  in  1790.  It  was  considered  a  standard  work  in 
criticism.  He  succeeded  to  the  estate  of  Woodhouselee,  a 
beautiful  residence  near  Edinburgh,  in  1792,  and  to  Bal- 
main  in  Inverness-shire  through  his  wife  soon  after.  In 
1802  he  took  his  seat  on  the  bench  as  Lord  Woodhouselee. 


1818.  ANNAL&  319 

His  '  Memoirs  of  the  Life  and  Writings  of  Henry  Home, 
Lord  Karnes,'  appeared  in  2  vols.  4to,  in  1807.  His  ^  Ele- 
ments of  General  History,  Ancient  and  Modem/  is  ac- 
curately and  elegantly  written,  and  has  become  a  standard 
work. 

On  account  of  the  high  price  of  provisions,  some 
of  the  almost  extinct  class  of  riots  called  M^cU  Mob$y 
arose  again  in  the  city  in  1813. 

A  very  useful  institution  was  commenced  in  1813,  desig- 
nated the  Society  for  the  Suppression  of  Bef^;ing.  The 
indiscriminate  relief  of  undeserving  beggars  in  the  streets 
had  ^ven  rise  to  much  evil  and  imposition.  Street  begging 
was  now  suppressed,  soup  kitchens  were  subsequently  opened 
to  relieve  those  in  real  distress,  and  a  repository  for  work 
established,  where  a  committee  of  ladies  gave  out  industrial 
employment  to  the  deserving  poor. 

The  House  of  Commons  on  the  30th  April  1813,  voted 
£10,000  towards  building  a  new  prison,  and  £1,000  for  a 
County  HaU  in  Edinburgh. 

The  old  massive  silver  keys  of  the  city  of  Edinburgh  had 
been  long  lost  and  were  found  this  year,  when  on  19th  May, 
1813,  the  ancient  custom  of  presenting  them  to  the  Sovereign 
or  his  representative  was  revived  by  the  Lord  Provost,  Wil- 
liam Ci*eech,  and  the  Magistrates  waiting  on  the  Lord 
High  Commissioner,  Lord  Napier,  and  presenting  him  ^vith 
the  keys.  The  last  time  this  had  been  done  was  in  July, 
1628,  when  these  identical  keys  were  presented  to  Eang 
Charles  I. 

The  large  room  in  Free  Masons  Hall,  Niddry  Street,  was 
used  in  1813  as  a  place  of  meeting  for  the  Edinburgh  Forum, 
an  institution  where  literary  and  abstract  political  questions 
were  propounded  for  debate.  The  institution  was  found  use- 
ful, attracting  many  of  the  inhabitants  to  it  in  the  evenings 
as  a  rational  place  of  amusement.  Among  the  intelligent 
and  interesting  speakers   were   James   Hogg   the  Ettrick 


320  HISTORT  OF  £DmBUBGH. 

Shepherd^  and  John  M^Biannid,  afterwards  well  known  as 
the  editor  of  the  DomMes  and  Grallowaj  Courier. 

At  this  period  it  was  the  custom  in  Edinburgh  to  comr 
memorate  the  occurrences  then  taking  place  on  the  continent 
of  Europe,  bj  the  thunder  of  the  Castle  guns;  and  so  fire- 
quent  and  stirring  in  those  warlike  days  were  the  series  of 
public  events,  that  from  the  1st  July,  1813,  to  1st  Julj, 
1814,  this  noisy  demonstration  took  place  twenty  different 
times.    The  events  so  honoured  were  the  following: 

DaU  of  tnvd.  Celebrated  in  Edinburgh. 

1813.  2l8tJan6      Battle  of  VlttorU,  .    6th  July 

Battles  of  the  PTrenees,  19th  Aug. 

F&ll  of  Fortress  of  St.  Sebastian,       17th  Sept. 
Bernadotte  and  Blucher*s  Victories,  24th  Sept. 
Entry  of  Wellington  into  the  French 
Territories,      ....    2l8t  Oct. 
18th  Oct.        Battle  of  Leipeic,     ...        8th  Nov. 
1st  Nov.  Fall  of  Pampeluna,  .     12th  Not. 

Restoration  of  the  House  of  Orange 

and  Battle  of  Hanau,  25th  Not. 

Restoration  of  Hanover,  27th  Nov. 

lOth  Nov.       Defeat  of  Soult  at  St.  Pe  by  Wel- 
lington,       ....        28th  Nov. 

1814.  9  A  13  Dec.  Battles  in  the  South  of  France 
14th  Jan.        Peace  with  Denmark, 
9  &  10  March  Battle  of  Laon, 
25th  Feb.        Battle  of  Orthes,     . 
12th  March     Capture  of  Bordeaux, 
30th  March     Capitulation  of  Paris, 
2d  April         Deposition  of  Napoleon, 
11th  April      Abdication  of  Napoleon, 
30th  May       Definitive  Treaty  of  Peace, 

Proclamation  of  Peace,    . 

On  8th  November,  1813,  a  general  illumination  took 
place  in  the  city,  bj  order  of  the  Magistrates,  as  a  rejoicing 
for  the  great  victory  obtained  by  the  allied  armies  at  Leipdc, 
and  on  15th  April,  1814,  a  similar  rejoicing  took  place  on 
the  entry  of  the  allies  into  Paris,  and  the  consequent  con* 
elusion  of  the  long  and  desolating  French  Bevolationary 
War.  The  utmost  joy  pervaded  all  classes;  the  inhabitants 
wore  tchite  cockades  on  the  occasion.     A  triumphal  arch  was 


Ut  Jan. 
29th  Jan. 
20th  March 
27th  Feb. 
14th  March 
8th  April 
11th  April 
16th  April 
6th  Jane 
29th  Jane 


1813.  AKKALS.  321 

thrown  across  the  South   Bridge  bearing  the  inscription: 
^  Moscow  burnt, — ^Paris  savei" 


miniam  Craig,  %otO  Graig. 

William  Craig,  Lord  Craig,  a  jndge  of  the  Com! 
of  Session,  and  an  elegant  writer,  was  bom  in  1745. 
He  passed  Advocate  1768.  The  periodical  work,  The  Mir- 
ror, wbich  ranked  high  among  the  British  Essayists,  was  pro- 
jected by  Craig,  and  began  to  appear  in  1779.  The  prin- 
cipal members  of  the  Mirror  Club  in  Edinburgh  at  that  time 
were  Henry  Mackenzie,  Collen,  and  Macleod  Bannatyne. 
To  the  Lounger  he  was  a  contributor.  He  succeeded  Lord 
Hailes  on  the  bench  1792.     He  died  8th  July,  1813. 

aOexatiBn:  VBLUmhu 

Alexander  Wilson,  the  celebrated  Ornitholomst, 

1813.  ri     ~ 

and  a  good  Scottish  poet,  was  bom  at  Paisley  in 
1766.  He  came  to  Queensferry  near  Edinburgh  as  a 
weaver,  and  for  three  years  travelled  as  a  Scottish  pedlar, 
with  a  pocky  as  it  was  called,  that  is,  selling  miscellaneous 
articles;  to  which  he  soon  added  a  volume  of  his  poems. 
From  Edinburgh  he  wrote  to  a  friend,  "  I  have  this  day 
measured  the  height  of  a  hundred  stairs,  and  explored  the 
recesses  of  twice  that  number  of  miserable  habitations;  and 
what  have  I  gained  by  it,  only  two  shillings  of  worldly  pelf." 
He  appeared  in  Edinburgh  at  a  debating  society  called  the 
Forum,  and  on  the  question,  "Whether  the  exertions  of 
Allan  Ramsay  or  Bobert  Fergusson  had  done  most  honour 
to  Scottbh  Poetr}',"  he  recited  a  poem  of  his  own,  called 
'  The  Laurel  Disputed,'  and  spoke  in  favour  of  the  supe- 
riority of  Fergusson.  He  also  read  in  public  two  other 
poetical  essays,  and  contributed  some  pieces  to  Dr.  Ander- 
son's ^  Bee.'  He  went  to  Ayrshire  to  meet  Robert  Bums, 
and  the  two  poets  became  intimate.     His  best  and  most  cele- 


322  HISTOBY  OF  EDINBUKGH. 

brated  poem,  ^  Wat  and  M^'  appeared  in  1792.  He  went 
to  America  in  1794.  He  became  a  teacher  there.  The 
idea  of  his  splendid  ornithological  work  first  occnzred  to 
him  in  1803.  He  visited  the  ialls  of  Niagara,  and  walked 
1^60  miles  in  North  America  in  59  days,  and  after 
wondroQS  adyentares,  forming  a  perfect  romance,  he  pub- 
lished the  first  Tolnme  of  his  '  American  Ornithology '  in 
1808,  and  the  second  in  1810..  He  sailed  down  the  Ohio 
some  six  hundred  miles  in  a  small  boat,  with  his  fowling- 
piece,  and  slept  many  weeks  in  the  wilderness,  with  his  gun 
and  pistols  in  his  bosom.  His  work  became  famous  both  in 
Europe  and  America:.  He  had  brought  out  seven  volumes 
of  it,  and  was  colouring  with  his  own  hands  the  plates  for 
the  eighth,  when  he  died  23d  August,  1813,  after  as  singular 
a  life  as  perhaps  any  Scotsman  ever  encountered. 

St.  .ftmtin  Some* 

Francis  Home  was  bom  1719.     He  was  appren- 

1813.  . 

ticed  with  Mr.  Battray,  surgeon,  Edinburgh,  and  was 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  Boyal  Medical  Society.  He  gra- 
duated in  1780,  and  eight  years  afterwards  was  elected  Pro- 
fessor of  Materia  Medica  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 
He  wrote  several  medical  works  highly  esteemed  in  those  days. 
His  ^  Principia  Medicinss  *  appeared  in  Latin,  and  was  much 
used  as  a  text-book.  EUs  account  of  ^  Dunse  Spa '  was 
published  in  1751,  and  his  ^  Experiments  on  Bleaching,'  for 
which  the  ScottiBh  Board  of  Trustees  awarded  him  a  medal, 
in  1756.  He  held  the  Professorship  of  Agriculture  in 
Edinburgh  for  a  period  on  its  first  institution. 
Dr.  Home  died  in  1813. 

A  remarkable  event  took  place  in  the  annals  of 

Scottish  literature  in  Edinburgh  on  4th  July  1814, 

by  the  publication  of  *  Waverley ;  or  'Tis  Sixty  Tears  Since.' 

Its  authorship  was  anonymous,  but  even  then  there  was  a 


\. 


1814.  ANNALS.  323 

general  romoor  that  it  was  written  by  Walter  Soott,  who 
had  been  for  some  time  the  most  popular  of  Scottish  poets. 
Waverley  was  the  first  of  a  series  of  romances,  partly  histori- 
cal in  their  character,  which  may  be  said  to  have  attracted 
more  of  the  public  attention  than  any  works  of  fiction  that 
ever  appeared,  and  the  success  of  Waverley  induced  the 
author  to  follow  rapidly  with  ^6uy  Mannering,'  'The 
Antiquary,'  and  '  Bob  Boy,'  he  adopting  a  strict  vneogtiilo 
which  probably  added  to  the  public  interest  by  exciting  a 
greater  curiosity  regarding  their  parentage. 

•asitel  Stetaiart 

Daniel  Stewart  was  born  1741,  and  came  early  to 

1814. 

Edinburgh  where  he  held  an  appointment  in  the 
Court  of  Exchequer,  and  at  his  death  in  1814  left  property 
to  the  amount  of  £18,000  to  trustees  to  purchase  a  pi^ce  of 
ground  in  a  healthy  situation  either  in  the  city  of  Edinburgh 
or  suburbs,  and  build  an  hospital  thereon  for  poor  boys.  In 
1849  the  funds  having  fructified,  the  Trustees  obtained  a 
site  at  the  Dean,  dose  by  the  New  Town,  where  they  erects 
ed  a  handsome  hospital,  from  a  design  by  Mr.  David  Rhind. 
The  outlay  was  altogether  near  £30,000.  The  hospital  was 
opened  in  1855.  There  are  now  fifty  boys  in  it  receiving  a 
good  education.  The  Rev.  Hugh  Niven,  late  of  Gartmore 
chapel,  was  appointed  the  head  toaster.  Boys  of  the  name 
of  Stewart  and  Macfarlane  have  the  preference.  The  age 
for  admission  is  between  seven  and  ten. 

Stewart  also  founded  a  fVee  school  at  his  native  parish  of 
Logierait,  which  cost,  with  the  endowment,  nearly  £4,000. 

Parliament  voted  £10,000  towards  finishing  the 
building  of  the  University,  21st  June  1815,  and  a 
similar  sum  was  annually  granted  till  the  whole  was  com- 
pleted. 

Intelligence  of  the  great  victory  which  again  gave  peace 


324  mSTORT  OF  edinbcbgh. 

to  Europe — ^the  Battle  of  Waterloo — ^reached  Edinboi^  on 
Saturday  24th  June,  18 15^  six  dap  after  the  battle  was 
fought,  an  express,  with  the  important  tidings,  being  for- 
warded from  London  by  the  Lord  Provost,  Sir  John  Mar- 
joribanks,  Bart.,  M.P. 

On  12th  Angnst  1815,  the  gallant  hm>  of  Barrosa, 
Thomas  Grahame,  Lord  Lynedoch,  was  presented  with  the 
freedom  of  the  dty  in  a  gold  box. 

The  foundations  of  the  Begent  Bridge  and  the  new  .Jail 
were  laid  on  19th  September  1813,  with  a  grand  masonic 
procession,  accompanied  by  the  public  bodies.  Sir  John 
Maijoribanks,  M J'.,  attending  as  Lord  Provost,  with  the 
Magistrates  and  the  Parliamentary  Commissioners.  This 
splendid  bridge  was  intended  to  continue  the  line  of  Prince's 
Street  to  the  Calton  Hill,  and  when  completed  formed  one 
of  the  greatest  modem  improvements  of  Edinburgh. 

The  week  commencing  30th  October  1815,  was  a  parti- 
cularly crowded  and  gay  one  in  the  Scottish  metropolis. 
The  modem  amusement  of  a  musical  festival  was  held  fat 
the  first  time  in  Edinburgh.  The  large  or  outer  Parliament 
House  was  fitted  up  for  the  morning  oratorios  with  a  grand 
organ.  This  hall  held  1,500  people,  and  was  crowded  on 
aU  the  occasions.  The  evening  concerts  were  in  Corrfs 
Booms,  head  of  Leith  Walk.  The  charge  was  three  guineas 
for  six  performances.  Tickets,  to  the  amount  of  nine  thou- 
sand, were  disposed  of. 

On  the  3d  November,  Sadler,  the  aeronaut,  ascended  from 
the  University  buildings  in  a  splendid  car  attached  to  bis 
balloon.  He  went  close  by  Salisbury  Crags,  and  descended 
in  a  ploughed  field  near  Portobello.  The  Calton  Hill, 
Arthur's  Seat,  and  Salisbury  Crags  presented  to  view  a 
dense  and  moving  crowd  surveying  the  beantiful  scene. 

The  Archdukes  John  and  Lewis,  brothers  of  the  Emperor 
of  Austria,  arrived  in  Edinburgh  2d  December  1815. 
They  were  presented  with  the  freedom  of  the  city,  visited 
Holyrood  and  the  principal  public  institutions,  and  were 


1815.  ANNAL&  325 

entertained  by  the  Lord  Provost,  Arbuthnot,  at  bis  house  in 
Charlotte  Square. 

The  Speculative  Society  is  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
philosophical  associations  connected  with  the  University  of 
Edinburgh.  The  completion  of  its  fiftieth  year  was  cele- 
brated on  17th  December  1815.  Some  of  the  most  eminent 
literary  men  attended ;  among  these  were  William  Adam, 
John  Clerk,  Henry  Cockbjim,  Lord  Gillies,  Francis  Homer, 
Francis  Jefirey,  James  Moncrieff,  John  A.  Murray,  Profes> 
sor  Playfair,  and  Walter  ScotU 

Clftfllunit  Cttt^. 

'Vl'^iUiam  Creech,  a  well*known  Edinburgh  book- 
seller and  publisher,  was  the  son  of  the  Bev.  William 
Creech,  minister  of  Newbattle.  He  was  born  in  1745.  In 
1766  he  went  on  a  continental  tour  with  Lord  Kilmaurs, 
son  of  the  Earl  of  Glencaim.  In  1771  he  joined  his  old 
master,  Kincaid,  as  a  bookseller,  in  the  conspicuous  building 
long  known  as  Creech's  land,  facing  the  Cross,  due  west, 
where  the  Edinburgh  literati  used  often  to  meet,  as  well  as 
at  his  house  at  breakfiist.  His  parties  there  were  called 
Creech's  levees.  For  a  long  period  he  had  a  villa  at  Trinit\', 
where  he  used  to  ride  down  with  his  man-servant,  also  on 
hoi-seback.  This  was  the  old  style  of  a  gentleman  in  the 
Scottish  metropolis.  Creech  was  a  handsome,  genteel-looking 
man.  He  published  the  principal  Scottish  works  during  his 
time.  In  1811  he  was  elected  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  city. 
When  proffered  this  honour  he  was  doubtful  about  it,  and 
consulted  Dr.  Gregory  if  he  should  accept.  ^'  By  all  means,*' 
said  the  Dr.,  *^  I  should  like  to  see  the  inside  of  a  Lord  Pro- 
vost.'' His  letters  comparing  the  state  of  society  and  man- 
ners in  Edinburgh  in  1763  and  1783,  are  so  curious 
and  valuable  that  they  form  a  historical  document,  and  we 
shall  give  them  in  die  appendix  to  this  part.  His  liter- 
ary  lucubrations  were  collected  in  an  octavo  volume,  entitled 


326  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBOH. 

^  Edinburgh  Fogitire  Pieces.'     Creech  died  14th  January 
1815. 

When  the  Court  of  Session  was  divided  into  two 
Chambers  in  1808,  Bojal  Commissioners  were  ap- 
pointed to  enquire  if  the  introduction  of  trial  bj  jury  in 
civil  causes  might  be  successfully  attempted  in  Scodand. 
Their  report  was  favourable,  and  an  Act  was  passed  accord- 
ingly in  1814.  The  Sight  Hon.  William  Adam  was  ap- 
pointed Lord  Chief  Commissioner,  or  presiding  judge  of  the 
court,  which  was  opened  on  22d  Januaiy  1816,  the  Lord 
Chief  Commissioner  deli\'ering  an  eloquent  speech  on  the 
occasion.    , 

The  erection  of  this  court  gave  rise  to  the  witticism,  why 
is  the  Jury  Court  in  Scotland  like  the  garden  of  Eden  ? — 
Because  it  was  made  for  Adam. 


Dr.  Adam  Ferguson,  an  individual  long  known 
in  the  literary  circles  of  Edinburgh,  died  in  March 
1816,  in  the  98d  year  of  his  age.  In  his  youth  he  studied- 
both  at  St.  Andi*ews  and  Edinburgh  Universities.  In 
1745  he  was  Chaplain  to  the  42d  regiment,  twelve  years 
after  he  was  tutor  in  the  family  of  the  Earl  of  Bute,  and  in 
1759  was  appointed  to  the  Natural  Philosophy  Chair,  Uni- 
versity of  Edinburgh,  but  six  years  afterwards  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Moral  Philosophy  Class.  In  1767  his  ^  Essay 
on  Civil  Society'  appeared,  and  in  1783  his  ^History  of 
the  Boman  Bepublic'  He  retired  from  his  professional 
labours  the  following  year  to  a  picturesque  rural  situation, 
Hallyards,  near  Peebles,  where  he  was  often  visited  by  Sir 
Walter  Scott  and  other  literary  men.  In  Edinburgh  he 
long  resided  in  a  lai^  mansion  at  the  south  side  of  the 
town,  Sdennes  House,  near  the  spot  where  the  ancient 
nunneiy  of  Catherine  of  Sienna  stood.    His  house  there 


1816.  ANNAI&  327 

was  frequented  bj  some  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of 
the  day. 

As  comparatively  unimportant,  few  incidents  are  given 
in  this  volume  regarding  theatrical  or  dramatic  matters. 
The  Edinburgh  Theatre  was  original] j  in  the  Canongate; 
Allan  Bamsay  attempted  one  in  Carrubber's  Cloee,  and 
in  1769,  the  present  dull,  stupid-looking  building  was 
erected  in  front  of  Sbakspeare  Square.  Corn's  Rooms, 
at  the  head  of  Leith  Walk,  were  afterwards  converted  into  a 
theatre,  and  occasionally  used  as  a  rival  to  the  Theatre 
Koyal,  or  a  conjoint  adventure  with  it.  In  1784  the  SiddctUj 
the  celebrated  Mi-s.  Siddons,  sister  of  John  Eemble,  ap- 
peared in  Edinburgh,  and  so  great  was  the  anxiety  to  wit^ 
ness  her  performances,  that  the  visitors  used  to  take  pos- 
session of  their  seats  at  two  o'clock,  and  amuse  themselves 
there  till  she  appeared  in  character  in  the  evening.  Her 
Queen  Katherine  and  Belvidera  were  among  the  most  cele- 
brated of  her  performances.  In  personal  appearance  she 
was  a  woman  of  commanding  beauty,  deemed  like  the  fancy 
figure  of  Melpomene,  the  tragic  muse.  In  1815  her  suc- 
cessor tSiss  O'Neill,  appeared  in  Edinburgh,  and  then  there 
was  a  similar  theatrical  mania;  porters  were  actually  engaged 
to  sleep  all  night  on  the  street  at  the  box  office  door  of  tlie 
Theatre  to  secure  places.  Juliet  and  Mrs.  Beverley  were 
two  of  her  best  dramatic  appearances,  and  she  was  a  young 
woman  of  great  natural  talent  and  genius.  In  1816  the 
elder  Kean  appeared,  and  also  created  considerable  excite- 
ment,— ^Richard  III.  and  Sir  Giles  Overreach  were  two  of 
his  most  celebrated  characters. 

The  year  1816  w*as  remarkably  late  in  its  harvest  About 
the  middle  of  October,  the  fields  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Edinburgh  were  only  then  cutting  down,  being  fully  six  ' 
weeks  later  than  the  ordinary  period  of  these  cereal  opera- 
tions which  so  materially  affect  that  important  matter  in  the 
practical  business  of  human  life — the  price  of  bread. 

It  accords  well  with  the  spirit  of  discovery  in  the  early 


328  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

part  of  the  nineteenth  centuxy^  to  record  here  that  a  joong 
English  engineer^  Mr.  John  Grafton,  educated  under  Clegg, 
came  to  Edinburgh  on  the  18th  Noyember,  I8I69  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  a  survej  of  the  town,  to  fix  on  an  eligible 
spot  for  gas  works,  in  order  to  light  the  Scottish  metropolis 
with  gas  instead  of  oil  lamps — an  improvement  which  the 
preceding  generation  would  have  regarded  as  altogether 
fabulous  or  Utopian.  He  and  some  leading  intelligent  and 
enterprising  citizens  who  accompanied  him,  decided  on  the 
foot  of  New  Street,  Canongate,  as  the  best  site,  and  there 
ore  still  to  be  found  the  extensive  works  of  the  old  Gas 
Company  of  Edinburgh. 

The  fii-st  series  of  the  *  Tales  of  my  Landlord '  were  pub- 
lished in  Edinbargh,  10th  December,  1816,  by  Blackwood, 
containing  the  ^  Black  Dwarf '  and  ^  Old  Mortality.*  The 
previous  works  of  the  author  of  Waverley  had  all  been  pub- 
lished by  Constable-— the  object  of  this  change  was  to  keep 
up  the  incognito  of  the  author,  but  the  discernment  of  the 
Edinbargh  public  was  not  at  fault,  they  were  at  once  recog- 
nised as  productions  of  the  same  author.  The  stoiy  of  the 
Black  Dwarf  was  one  comparatively  unimportant,  Walter 
Scott  having  taken  for  his  prototype  in  it,  a  deformed  eccen- 
tric being,  David  Ritchie,  who  had  long  sojourned  in  a  cot- 
tnge  in  the  vale  of  Manor,  in  Peebles-shire,  but  the  other  tale, 
'  Old  Mortality/  was  very  different  in  its  texture. — Scott 
here  aimed'  at  delineating  the  character  of  the  Scottish 
Covenanters,  and  instead  of  his  usual  tact  and  success,  he 
failed  and  caricatured  them.  Dr.  Thomas  M^Crie,  the  ex- 
cellent biographer  of  John  Knox,  reviewed  the  work  with 
great  historical  learning  in  the  Edinburgh  monthly  periodical, 
the  ^  Christian  Instructor.*  The  controversy  excited  great 
interest  in  Edinburgh. 

On  the  10th  December,  1816,  there  arrived  on  a  visit  to 
the  Scottish  metropolis,  a  tall,  handsome,  military-looking 
young  foreigner  from  a  still  more  northern  metropolis,  and 
who  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  that  enterprising  and  hardy 


1816.  AKNAL&  329 

monarch  who  worked  as  a  carpenter  in  an  English  dock- 
yard  in  the  time  of  King  William  III. — ^This  said  youth  was 
the  Grand  Dnke  Nicholas  of  Russia,  brother  of  the  Em- 
peror Alexander,  and  who  himself,  the  spoiled  child  of  fortune, 
accustomed  to  follow  his  own  wayward  will,  after  nearly  half 
a  century  of  peace,  has  embroiled  Europe  in  war.  Tliis 
prince  took  up  his  residence  in  the  Boyal  Hotel,  Prince's 
Street,  and  the  day  after  his  arrival  was  escorted  to  the 
Castle  by  the  Bight  Hon.  William  Arbuthnot,  Lord  Pro- 
vost of  Edinburgh,  and  who  had  the  honour  of  entertaining 
this  future  Autocrat  of  all  the  Russians  at  his  private  resi- 
dence in  Charlotte  Square. 

On  the  19tb  December,  the  Grand  Duke  Nicholas  *  was 
presented  with  the  freedom  of  the  city. 

The  working  classes  in  Edinburgh  were  in  a  very  destitute 
state  towards  the  end  of  the  yeai*  1816,  and  the  excellent 
plan  was  adopted  of  marshalling  them  in  bands,  and  employ- 
ing them  to  make  roads  round  the  Calton  Hill,  which  paths 
embrace  views  almost  unrivalled  in  the  world — also  a  new 
line  of  road  through  Holyrood  Park,  and  in  levelling  Brunts- 
field  Links,  part  of  the  common  good  of  Edinburgh,  where 
the  game  of  golfing  is  followed  as  a  healthy  recreation. 
These  improvements,  as  well  as  the  paving  of  many  of  the 
minor  streets  of  Edinburgh,  were  principally  brought  about 
by  the  exertions  of  a  useful  and  philantliropic  citizen,  lir. 
Robert  Johnston. 

JFtancm  tmVub,  Gsq.,  of  fiiVab. 

This -well-known  character,  commonly  called  the 

Laird  of  M^Nab,  a  curious  specimen  of  a  Highland 

laird,  was  bom  in  1786.     He  was  a  man  of  a  singularly  tall 

and  robust  frame,  and  possessed  of  considerable  energy  of 

*  This  despotic  prisce,  afterwards  the  Emperor  Nicholas  of  Rnsaia,  waa 
born  1796,  succeeded  his  bix>ther,  the  Emperor  Alexander,  Ist  December 
1S35,  and  dJM)  2d  Maich  1855. 


330  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

mind,  and  his  manners  blont  and  totally  nnmonlded  by  any 
of  the  conyentionalities  of  society.  His  estate  was  in  the 
Highlands  of  Perthshire;  and  among  the  nomerous  stories 
told  of  him,  it  was  said,  that  when  paying  his  addresses  to 
his  ftitare  wife,  he  urged  his  suit  by  describing  what  a  beau- 
tifol  burying  groond  she  would  have  at  Ejllin.  One  year 
coming  to  Leith  races,  which  he  attended  annually — he  so 
fatigued  his  pony  that  it  died*  Next  year  a  wag  came  up 
to  him,  and  asked:  ^^  Laird,  is  that  the  same  ponyf  ^^  No 
Sir,''  said  he,  shaking  the  weapon  at  him,  ^  but  it  is  the 
same  whip."  On  one  occasion  having  ordered  a  mouxning 
ring  from  an  Edinburgh  jeweller,  when  asked  tor  the  hair, 
he  said  that  he  was  charging  him  so  high  for  the  ring,  he  ex- 
[)ected  lie  would  give  him  the  hair  for  nothing.-  His  edu- 
cation must  have  been  rather  defective,  as  he  was  said  to 
have  alleged  that  he  never  got  a  pen  that  could  spell  right. 
He  died  in  1816. 

In  March,  1817,  John  Kemble,  one  of  the  most 
eminent  modem  tragedians,  bade  farewell  to  the 
stage  at  the  Edinburgh  Theatre.  His  personations  of  the 
Boman  character  were  about  the  best  of  his  histrionic  ap» 
pearances.  In  his  Cato  and  Coriolanus  he  completely  em- 
bodied the  character.  Jeffrey  presided  at  a  dinner  given  to 
him  at  Edinburgh  on  retiring  from  the  stage.  And  as  a 
consolation  to  all  public  speakers  who  ever  make  a  failure, 
it  may  be  mentioned  that  Jeffrey  fairly  broke  down  on  the 
occasion.  He  thought  he  had  prepared  one  of  his  best 
speeches;  but  on  getting  to  his  feet,  he  found  it  had  fairly 
evaporated — totally  escaped  from  his  memory. 

The  Edinburgh  newspaper  press  had  hitherto  been  deemed 
rather  servile  in  its  character,  and  a  good  deal  of  interest 
was  excited  at  this  time  by  the  commencement,  25th  Janu- 
ar}%  1817,  of  a  weekly  newspaper  under  the  title  of  ^  The 
Scotsman  * — on  the  liberal  side  of  politics.  Its  two  prin- 
cipal contributors,  though  not  known  as  such  at  the  time, 


1817.  AKXAIA  331 

were  Mr.  J.  B.  M^CuUoch,  the  wdUknown  writer  ob  Po- 
litical Economy,  and  Mr.  Charles  McLaren,  the  author  of 
the  '  Geology  of  the  Lothians.'  This  newspaper  soon  at- 
tained an  extensive  circulation. 

The  Scots  Magazine,  a  decent,  dry,  monthly  periodical, 
with  a  regular  historical  register,  was  originally  established 
in  Edinburgh  so  far  back  as  1739,  and  continued  its  quiet 
career  till  1817,  when  it  was,  for  a  period  before  its  final  de- 
mise, stirred  up  to  greater  activity  by  the  commencement 
of  a  new  monthly  periodical,  under  the  auspices  of  an  able 
and  energetic  publisher,  TSir.  William  Blackwood,  from 
whom  the  new  work  derived  its  name.  The  rise  of  this 
Magazine  constitutes  a  marked  event  in  the  annals  of  £d* 
inburgh  and  Scottish  literature. 

John  Gibson  Lockhart  and  John  Wilson  were  two 
young  men  of  great  talent  and  genius,  from  the  west  of 
Scotland,  who  came  to  Edinburgh  and  passed  at  the  Scottish 
bar — ^though  both  soon  after  doffed  the  wig  and  gown,  for 
literature  as  a  profession.  They  were  the  two  principal 
writers  in  Blackwood's  Magazine,  and  with  the  active  exer- 
tions of  the  publisher  speedily  raised  it  into  celebrity,  and 
ultimately  into  a  circulation  of  some  eight  or  nine  thousand 
copies.  Wilson  is  known  over  the  world  as  a  great  poet — 
the  autiior  of  <  The  Isle  of  Palms,'  and  <  The  City  of  the 
Plague,'  and  as  the  Christopher  North  of  Blackwood's  Ma^ 
gazine.  The  ^  Chaldee  Manuscript,'  a  literary  squib  which 
appeared  in  the  seventh  number  of  this  Magazine,  and  ex- 
cited an  intense  sensation  in  Edinburgh,  was  afterwards 
understood  to  be  written  by  the  celebrated  James  Hogg, 
the  Ettrick  Shepherd.  The  correct  version  is,  that  Hogg 
wrote  the  skeleton  or  germ  of  this  extraordinary  production, 
and  Wilson  and  Lockhart,  as  the  Shepherd  affinned,  after- 
wards put  all  "  the  deevilry  "  into  it. 

Two  months  after  the  commencement  of  ^The  Scots- 
man ' — ^the  ^  Edinburgh  Weekly  Journal,'  a  respectable 
newspaper  which  had  been  established  in  1806,  was  brought 


332  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

to  pablic  sale.  Its  circulation  amoaated  to  1,500  copies, 
and  it  may  be  curious  to  record  here  the  statistics  of  such  a 
literary  and  commercial  concern: 

The  annual  coat  of  Stamps  and  Paper  waa  £1,425 

Salea  of  Newspapers,       £2,890  Printing,       •  •  .570 

Adrertiaements,  1,065  Advertisement  duty,       .  ZGO 

Clerks'  salaries,  Office  rent,  &0.,    250 
Allowanoe  for  bad  debts,  240 

Profits,     ...  600 

£3,445  £3,445 

The  copyright  of  Newspapers  is  a  very  fluctuating  and 
uncei-tain  commodity, — ^here  the  probable  annual  profit 
seemed  to  be  £600  per  annum,  and  at  the  public  sale  Mr. 
Blackwood,  the  Edinburgh  publisher,  along  with  Provost 
Brown  of  Aberdeen,  offered  for  it  the  sum  of  £1,830,  but  it 
was  purchased  for  James  Ballantyne  -  the  printer,  the  in- 
timate friend  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  for  £1,850.  This  was 
deemed  a  high  price;  but  Ballantyne,  as  the  futui-e  editor, 
expected  great  aid  from  his  distinguished  literary  coadjutor. 
The  newspaper  continued  in  his  hands  for  about  a  dozen  of 
years.  In  this  Journal,  Sir  Walter  Scott  some  years  after- 
wards wrote  the  celebrated  letters  of  Sir  Malachi  Mala- 
growther  against  Peel's  proposed  bill  for  the  withdrawal 
of  the  one  pound  notes  in  Scotland. 

In  the  month  of  July  1817,  some  very  considerable  im- 
provements took  place  in  Edinburgh  by  the  removal  of 
several  buildings  in  difierent  localities.  The  tenement  in 
Shakspeare  Square  occupying  the  site  leading  to  the  New 
Regent  Bridge,  now  in  the  course  of  erection,  was  pulled 
down,  thus  presenting  a  beautiful  view  of  the  Calton  Hill 
and  also  a  prolongation  of  Prince's  Street.  The  large 
building  called  Creech's  land  at  the  Luckenbooths,  with 
the  old  little  shops  that  were  known  as  the  Krames,  which 
had  been  attached  to  the  north  side  of  St. .  Giles's  Cathe- 
dral, were  also  happily  removed  at  this  time,  to  the  great 
improvement  of  the  Old  town.  A  few  weeks  afterwards 
the  old    Jail— The   <' Heart  of  Mid-Lothian,''  was   also 


3817.  AKNALS.  333 

levelled  with  the  ground,  the  prisoners  being  sent  to  the 
new  prison  on  the  Calton  Hill. 

Princess  Charlotte  of  Wales,  the  presnmptire  heiress  to 
the  British  throne,  and  consort  of  Prince  Leopold  of  Saxe- 
Cobourg,  died  6th  November,  1817.  Seldom  did  any  public 
event  excite  a  deeper  sensation  in  Edinburgh,  everv  one 
seemed  to  feel  it  as  a  domestic  affliction.  On  the  19th 
November,  the  daj  of  the  funeral,  all  business  was  sus- 
pended. Sermons  were  preached  in  the  several  churches, 
and  in  the  evening  minute  guns  were  fired. 

A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  2d  December, 
1817,  on  a  subject  which  excited  a  good  deal  of  angry  dis- 
cussion in  Edinburgh. — ^New  buildings  had  been  feued  br 
the  Town  Council  on  the  west  side  of  the  North  Bridge, 
near  the  Register  House,  and  it  was  alleged  that  these 
buildings  now  erecting  would  prove  injurious  to  the  aspect 
of  the  city,  and  that  their  erection  was  uUra  vires.  But  an 
amicable  compromise  took  place,  thej  being  reduced  one 
storey  in  their  height. 

Francis  Homer,  one  of  the  finest  and  most  intel- 

1817. 

lectual  statesmen  of  modern  times,  was  born  at  Ed- 
inburgh, 12th  August,  1778.  Dr.  Adam  said  of  him  at  the 
High  School,  that  he  was  the  only  boy  he  ever  knew  who 
had  an  old  head  on  young  shoulders.  He  passed  Advocate 
in  Edinburgh,  and  became  a  Member  of  Parliament  in 
1806,  and  soon  by  his  public  appearances  and  labours  gained 
golden  opinions  in  the  House  of  Commons.  He  and  Hus- 
kisson  drew  up  the  celebrated  Bullion  Report.  He  made 
valuable  contributions  to  his  friend  Jeffrey  for  the  Edin- 
burgh Review,  but  he  fell  a  martyr  to  his  studies,  and  died 
at  Pisa,  8th  February,  1817,  in  his  38th  year.  Had  he 
been  spared,  it  is  not  improbable  that  from  his  admirable 
qualifications  for  the  office,  he  might  have  become  Prime 


334  maroBT  of  edinbuboh. 

Minister  of  Grreat  Britain.  So  fine  and  attractive  was  his 
pb jsiognomy  when  a  yooth^  that  a  distinguished  man  re- 
marked of  him:  ^  That  bay  has  ths  Un  eammandmenU  writUn 
in  h%8  faceJ\ 

9x.  lUtXBMet  0lmxtL 

Alexander  Monro,  Seeundugj  who  was  bom  in 
Edinburgh,  1733,  obtained  his  degree  as  MJD. 
1755,  and  the  same  jear  became  conjoint  professor  with  his 
father.  He  commenced  practice  as  a  physician  in  Erlin- 
bnrgh,  1758,  and  occupied  the  most  eminent  sphere  in  that 
capacity.  He  published  his  ^  Observations  on  the  Structure 
and  Functions  of  the  Nervous  System,'  1783,  and  its  cele- 
brity was  such  that  it  was  translated  into  many  of  the  dif- 
fereot  languages  of  Europe.  His  ^  Treatises  on  the  Brain, 
the  Eye,  and  the  Ear,'  appeared  in  1797.  His  fiune  as  a 
medical  man  and  an  author  was  now  spread  over  Europe. 
He  enjoyed  his  otium  cum-  digniiate  at  Craiglockliart,  a 
beautiful  property  which  he  purchased  two  miles  south-west 
from  Edinburgh.  His  son,  the  third  Alexander  Monro, 
was  united  with  him  in  the  anatomical  chair,  but  it  is  not 
desirable  to  give  professorships  the  appearance  of  being 
hereditary.  The  second  Monro  retired  from  active  labour 
in  1809,  and  died  2d  October  1817. 


Vfit  Sotuiitraiile  Ifeitrs 

The  Honourable  Henry  Erskine,  a  well-known 
Edinburgh  character  in  his  day,  was  bom  in  Edin- 
burgh 1st  November  1746.     He  was  a  younger  son  of  the 
Earl  of  Buchan,  and  brother  of  Thomas  Lord  Erskine,  the 
Lord  Chancellor  of  England. 

Henry  Erskine  was  educated  for  the  bar,  passed  Advo- 
cate in  1768,  and  being  leading  Whig  lawyer  of  the  time, 
was  appointed  Lord  Advocate  during  the  short  Bockinghani 


1818.  AKNAL&  335 


ion  in  1782,  when  he  represented  the  Dunbar 
district  of  borghs  in  parliament*  He  was  Dean  of  Faculty 
fer  a  period,  and  again  became  Lord  Advocate  with  the 
GhrenTille  ministry  in  1806,  when  he  sat  in  the  House  of 
Commons  for  the  Domfines  borghs. 

Of  a  kindly,  witty,  and  generoos  disposition,  Erskine  was 
a  general  favonrite  in  the  capital  of  Scotland.  Daring  the 
latter  part  of  his  life  he  retired  from  professional  practice, 
and  resided  at  his  seat  of  Almondell,  in  Linlithgowshire. 
He  died  there  8th  October  1817. 

The  ancient  regalia  of  Scotland,  as  narrated  at 
the  period,  were,  in  1707,  deposited  in  a  chest  in 
Edinburgh  Castle.  In  the  long  inten^al  that  had  elapsed,  va- 
rious surmises  had  got  abroad  that  they  had  been  secretly 
taken  from  this  place  of  custody.  A  Commission  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  Prince  Regent  to  examine  the  Crown  Boom, 
and  on  4th  February  1818,  the  Commissioners  proceeded  to 
the  Castle  for  this  purpose,  and  found  the  regalia,  consisting 
of  the  crown,  sceptre,  sword  of  state,  and  a  silver  rod  of 
office,  all  safe  in  the  old  oaken  chest.  The  royal  standard 
was  now  hoisted  on  the  Castle  in  honour  of  the  discoveiy  of 
these  venerable  relics  of  Scottish  independence,  and  some 
time  thereafter  a  room  was  fitted  up  for  their  exhibition  to 
the  public,  and  Sir  Adam  Ferguson  appointed  keeper  of  the 
regalia  of  Scotland. 

The  connexion  of  the  cities  of  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow 
by  means  of  a  canal  had  been  under  discussion  for  some 
years,  and  an  Act  of  Parliament  having  now  been  obtained, 
the  work  was,  on  3d  March  1818,  commenced  at  Fountain- 
bridge,  a  western  suburb  of  Edinburgh,  the  spot  fixed  on 
for  the  canal  basin.  These  were  the  days  of  canak,  the 
railroad  era  not  having  then  arrived. 

A  band  of  literary  men,  calling  themselves  the  Dilettanti 
Society,  held  a  public  dinner  in  Edinburgh  in  commemora- 
tion of  Shakspeare,  on  23d  April  1818,  being  the  anniver- 


336  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

sarj  both  of  his  birth  and  death — 254  jean  fiiom  the  first 
and  202  jean  from  the  latter  event*  John  Wilson,  the 
author  of  the  '  hie  of  Palms,'  presided  at  this  festrral,  which 
was  attended  bj  between  one  and  two  handred  gentlemen. 
The  speeches  on  the  occasion  were  highly  eloquent,  and 
worthy  of  the  genios  of  the  man  commemorated,  who— 

""  The  msaj-colonred  page  of  lift  be  drew, 
Exhaneted  worlds;  and  then  imagined  new. 

On  25th  April  1818  the  fonndation-stone  of  a  new  Ob- 
servatory, on  the  Calton  Hill,  was  laid  by  Sir  George  S. 
Mackenzie,  as  representing  the  Astronomical  Institution  of 
Edinborgh.  The  members  were  accompanied  by  the  Lord 
Provost  and  Magistrates.  A  dinner  on  the  occasion  took 
place  in  Oman's  Hotel  the  same  day — Professor  Playfair 
presiding,  supported  by  Lord  Gray,  the  Lord  Provost,  Sir 
George  S.  Mackenzie,  and  many  other  distingtiiB. 

At  the  end  of  April  1818  the  shops  and  some  of  the 
streets  of  Edinburgh  were  lighted  by  gas  for  the  first  time, 
— ^pipes  having  been  laid  by  the  Edinburgh  Gas  Company 
through  the  town.  This  great  modem  improvement  was 
hailed  with  much  delight  by  the  public, — ^the  brilliancy  of 
the  lighting  of  the  streets  being  so  totally  different  firom  the 
old  oil  lamps.  Gradually  gas  lights  were  also  being  intro- 
duced into  private  houses  instead  of  tallow  and  wax  candles, 
which  were  previously  used  as  the  illuminating  process. 

The  Court  of  Session,  on '6th  June  1818,  found  the  last 
election  of  Edinburgh  Magistrates  and  Council  null  and 
void  on  account  of  an  informality  in  the  election,  and  to- 
wards the  end  of  the  following  year  the  verdict  of  a  jury  in 
the  Cinl  Court  led  to  the  same  result. 


1818. 


Hector  Macneil,  a  well-known  Scottish  poet,  was 
born  at  Itosebank,  near  Rosslyn,  in  1746.  ^  He  was 


1818.  ANNAU.  337 

sent  to  the  West  Indies  in  eai*ly  life  and  returned  to  bis  na> 
tdve  coantry  when  about  forty  years  of  age.  Bis  most  cele^ 
brated  poem,  ^  Scotland's  Skaith,  or  Will  and  Jean/  appeared 
in  1795,  and  its  sequel,  ^The  Waes  o*  War/  the  following 
year.  He  also  wrote  a  great  many  Scottish  songs.  He 
returned  again  to  the  West  Indies  for  a  short  period,  when, 
being  left  a  small  annuity,  he  then  took  up  his  residence  in 
Edinburgh,  and  was  at  one  time  editor  of  the  Scots  Maga- 
zine.    He  died  there  15th  March  1818. 


HUlcoUn  latog. 

Malcolm  Laing,  one  of  the  historians  of  Scotland, 
was  bom  at  Strynzia,  in  Orkney,  1762.  He  passed 
advocate  in  1785.  He  prepared  the  last  volume  of  Henry's 
'History  of  Britain'  for  the  press  in  1798,  and  in  1800  he 
published  his  '  History  of  Scotland,  from  the  union  of  the 
Crowns  to  the  union  of  the  Kingdoms,  with  dissertations  on 
the  Gowry  Conspiracy,  and  on  the  authenticity  of  Ossian's 
Poems.'  In  1804  he  brought  out  an  edition  of  his  history 
with  ^  A  Preliminary  Dissertation  on  the  Participation  of 
Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  in  the  murder  of  Damlej.'  He 
died  1818. 


Mrs.  Mary  Brunton  was  born  1778.     She  was 

1818. 

the  daughter  of  Colonel  Balfour  of  Elwick  in  Ork* 
ney.  In  1798  she  married  Dr.  Brunton,  afterwards  minis- 
ter of  the  Tron  church,  and  Prnfessor  of  Hebrew  in  the 
University  of  Edinburgh.  Her  excellent  novel  ^  Self-Con- 
trol,'  was  published  in  Edinburgh  1811,  and  was  follow- 
ed by  ^Discipline'  in  1814.  Both  attained  considerable 
celebrity.    Mrs.  Brunton  died  1818. 

Y 


338  mSTOBT  OF  edinbuboh. 

A  pablic  dinoOT  was  held  in  the  Asaemblj  Booms, 
Greorge  Street,  in  commemontion  of  Robert  Bams, 
22d  Febrnanr,  1819.  There  were  upwards  of  300  pre- 
sent, comprising  the  elite  of  the  literary  circles  of  Edin- 
burgh. John  Archibald  Murray,  (now  Lord  Murray)  Ad- 
vocate, in  the  chair.  The  eyening  passed  off  with  great 
eclat.  Francis  Jeffirey  proposed  the  health  of  Thomas 
Campbell,  the  author  of  the  ^  Pleasures  of  Hope.'  Henry 
Cockbum  (afterwards  Lord  Cockbum)  was  particularly 
happy  in  proposing  the  health  of  Henry  Mackenzie  and 
Dugald  Stewart,  and  Wilson  in  that  of  Hogg  the  Ettiick 
Shepherd,  who  personally  replied. 

Hoiiert  IBttnOati  of  arnfeton, 
IrOrO  C^irf  ISaxtin  of  ScotlanO. 

Robert  Dundas  of  Amiston,  eldest  son  of  the 

1819. 

second  Lord  President  Dundas,  was  born  1758, 
passed  Advdcate  1779,  soon  after  became  Solicitor  General, 
and  in  1789  was  appointed  Lord  Advocate,  and  was  elected 
M.  P.  for  the  county  of  Edinburgh.  Li  1801  he  became 
Lord  Chief  Baroti  of  Scotland.  This  respectable  judge 
was  possessed  of  great  mildness,  with  great  detei*miiiation  of 
character.     He  died  17th  June,  1819. 

John  Playfair,  was  the  son  of  the  minister  of  Ben- 

1819. 

vie  near  Dundee,  and  was  bom  there  1749.  He 
obtained  a  bursary  at  St.  Andrews  when  aged  fourteen.  He 
was  educated  for  the  church,  and  obtained  the  living  of 
Benvie  in  1773.  He  gave  up  his  church  in  1782,  and  be- 
came tutor  to  Mr.  Ferguson  of  Baith  and  his  brother  Sir 
Ronald  Ferguson.  In  1785  he  was  appointed  assistant  to 
Dr.  Adam  Ferguson  in  the  Mathematical  chair  in  Edinburgh. 
He  published  his  edition  of  Euclid  in  1795.     According 


1819.  ANNAL&  339 

to  the  Chaldee.  Manoscript,  ^  he  became  one  of  t]ie  wor- 
shippers of  fire."  He  wrote  an  analysis  of  the  '  Volcanic 
Theory  of  the  Earth/  and  in  1805  was  appointed  Professor 
of  Moral  Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and 
in  1814  brought  out  his  ^  Outlines  of  Natural  Philosophy.' 
In  1815  he  set  out  on  a  lengthened  tour  to  the  Continent; 
the  clear  air  of  Italy  during  this  tour  injured  his  eyesight 
much.  In  1816  his  ^Dissertation  on  the  Progress  of 
Mathematical  and  Physical  Science  since  the  Revival  of 
Lietters '  appeared  in  the  Supplement  to  the  EncyclopsBdia 
Britannica.  It  is  one  of  the  best  philosophical  Essays  of 
modem  times.  Playfair  died  in  Edinburgh,  19th  July, 
1819. 

A  monument  was  afberwanls  ei'ected  to  his  memoty  on 
tlie  Calton  Hill,  near  the  Royal  Observatory. 

The  Regent  Bridge  being  now  finished,  was  opened  for 
carriages  on  J  8th  August,  1819,  by  Prince  Lieopold  of  Saxe- 
Coburg,  passing  along  in  his  travelling  chariot,  escorted  by 
a  party  of  the  10th  Hussars;  this  was  Prince  Leopold's  first 
xisit  to  Edinburgh.  He  looked  grief-worn.  He  visited  tl)e 
Castle,  which  fired  a  royal  salute  on  the  occasion.  He  also 
went  to  the  Parliament  House  arid  the  University.  The 
following  day  his  Royal  Highness  dined  with  the  Right 
Hon.  Kincaid  Mackenzie,  the  Lord  Provost,  at  his  house 
in  Gayfield  Square. 

From  the  depressed  state  of  wages  and  iiifiamed  by  the 
statements  of  poUtical  demagogues,  much  popular  discontent 
had  arisen  throughout  tlie  inland  and  manufacturing  dis- 
tricts of  England  during  the  latter  half  of  the  year  1819. 
The  terrible  collision  between  the  military  and  the  populace 
at  ^ianchester,  16th  August  of  that  year,  increased  these 
discontents,  which  now  extended  to  Scotland,  and  during  the 
first  fifteen  days  of  December,  1819,  great  alai*m  of  a  rising 
of  the  people  in  Lanarkshire  pervaded  Edinburgh.  On  the 
8th  December,  the  yeomanry  cavalry  of  ilid-Lothian  and 


340  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGEL 

the  adjoining  counties  were  ordered  off  to  Lanarkshire  to 
check  any  commotion  there,  and  iiewlj  raised  volnnteen 
were  employed  for  the  ordinary  military  daty  at  the  Castle. 
Daring  the  13th  December,  Edinburgh  was  kept  in  the 
utmost  anxiety  about  apprehended  tumults  at  Glasgow,  but 
all  passed  off  quietly. 

The  death  of  the  Duke  of  Kent,  the  third  son  of 

1820. 

George  III.,  occurred  21st  January,  1820,  leaving 


a  daughter  eight  months  old,  the  Princess  Yictocia,  the 
future  occupant  of  the  British  throne;  and  on  the  29th 
January,  1820,  the  aged  monarch  George  m.  died  at 
Windsor  Castle,  after  having  reigned  beyond  half  a  centur}*. 


fflSTORICAL  DOCUMEHTS 

CONNECTED  WITH  PAET  THIKD. 


W»»»MWM««M«»»»M<»<»»»W»»»«»»W>»<»»»<»Mfc 


CREECH'8  LETTEBfi, 


OOKPAKIXO  TEE  UAXmEM  AXD  OOXDmOII  OP  SDIKBUBaB  AMD  ITB 
DrKABITAlCTB  ZX  1763,  1783,  AXD  1793. 

These  letters  of  Creech  are  valuable,  constituting,  aa  they 
do,  a  graphic  delineation  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
people  ox  Edinburgh,  and  the  state  of  society  there  at  the 
different  periods  of  the  reign  of  George  III. 

"  Every  person,  whose  reoollection  extends  but  to  a  few  years 
past,  must  be  sensible  of  a  very  striking  difierenoe  in  the  external 
appearance  of  Edinburgh,  and  also  in  the  mode  of  living,  trade, 
and  manners  of  the  people. 

A  comparison,  no  farther  back  tlian  between  the  year  176d  and 
the  year  1783,  and  from  thence  to  1793,  and  many  features  of  the 
present  time  will  appear  prominent  and  striking,  which,  in  the 
gradual  progress  of  society,  have  passed  altogether  unnoticed,  or 
have  been  but  faintly  perceived.  So  remarkable  a  change  is  not 
perhaps  to  be  equalled,  in  so  short  a  period,  in  any  city  of  Europe; 
nor  in  the  same  city  for  two  centuries. — When  the  plans  at  pre- 
sent in  contemplation  are  completed,  Edinburgh  will  be  the  most 
beautiful  and  picturesque  city  in  the  world. 

In  1763 — Edinburgh  was  almost  entirely  confined  within  the 
city-walls.  The  suburbs  were  of  small  extent.  Nicolson's  Street 
and  Square,  Chapel  Street,  the  greater  part  of  Bristo  Street, 
Crichton  Street,  George's  Square,  Teviot  Row,  Bucdeuch  Street, 
St.  Patrick's  Square,  &c.  &fC.  to  the  south,  were  fields  and  or- 
chards. To  the  north,  there  was  no  bridge;  and  the  New  town, 
with  all  its  degant  and  magnificent  buildings,  squares,  rows,  courts, 
&c.  extending  upwards  of  a  mile  in  length,  and  near  half  a  mile 
in  breadth,  did  not  exist.  There  is  not  now  in  Europe  a  more 
beautiful  terrace  than  Prince's  Street,  nor  a  more  elegant  street 
than  George  Street.  The  views  from  Queen  Street,  to  the  north', 
exhibit  a  scene  of  grandeur  and  beauty  unparalleled  in  any  city. 

It  is  a  moderate  calculation  to  say^  that  three  millionb  sterling 


342  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

have  been  expended  on  building,  and  public  improvements,  in  and 
about  the  olty  of  Edinburgh  since  1763;  the  environs  of  which 
cannot  be  surpassed  in  views  of  the  sublime,  the  picturesque,  and 
the  beautiful. 

In  1763-— People  of  quality  and  fashion  lived  in  houses,  which, 
in  1783,  were  inhabited  by  tradesmen,  or  by  people  in  humble  and 
ordinary  life.  The  Lord  Justice-Clerk  Tinwald's  house  was  pos- 
sessed by  a  French  teacher — Lord  President  Craigie's  house^  by 
a  rouping-wife  or  saleswoman  of  old  furniture— «nd  Lord  Drum- 
more's  house  was  left  by  a  chairman  for  want  of  accommodation. 

The  house  of  the  Duke  of  Douglas  at  the  Union,  is  now  pos- 
sessed by  a  wheel- wright.  Oliver  Cromwell  once  lived  in  the  late 
gloomy  chambers  of  the  Sheriff-clerk.  The  great  Marquis  of 
Argyle's  house,  in  the  Castlehill,  was  possessed  by  a  hosier,  at  £12 
■pw  iXMw,m,  The  house  of  the  late  President  Dundas,  who  died 
in  Dec.  1787,  is  now  possessed  by  an  ironmonger,  as  his  dwelling- 
house  and  ware-room.— A  house  lately  inhabited  by  one  of  the 
present  Lords  of  Session,  is  now  possessed  by  a  tailor. 

In  1786 — A  bridge  to  the  south,  over  the  Cowgate-street,  was 
built,  and  the  areas  for  building  shops  and  houses  on  the  east  and 
west  side  of  it,  sold  higher  than  perhaps  ever  was  known  in  any 
city,  at  the  rate  of  no  less  than  £96,000  jmt  statute  acre;  and 
some  areas  at  the  rate  of  £109,000  jmt  acre: — and  in  1790,  the 
area  at  the  east  end  of  Mylne's  Square,  sold  for  above  £151,000 
p«^  acre? 

In  March  1792 — The  ground  for  nine  houses  on  the  north  of 
Charlotte's  Square,  sold  for  £2,480  or  £9  jmt  foot  in  front,  be- 
sides £6  yearly,  for  every  42  feet  in  front. 

The  foundation-stone  of  the  South  Bridge,  over  the  Cowgate, 
was  laid  on  the  1st  of  August  1785.  The  bridge,  consisting  of 
22  arches,  was  built— -the  old  houses  were  removed— el^ant  new 
houses  on  both  sides  were  finbhed — the  shops  occupied — and  the 
street  opened  for  carriages  in  March  1788-— an  operation  of  as- 
tonishing celerity!— By  this  change,  Niddry's,  Merlin's,  and 
Peebles'  wynds  were  annihilated ;  and  the  oldest  scone  building  in 
Edinburgh  was  pulled  down,  where  Queen  Mary  lodged  the  night 
after  the  battle  of  Carberry  hilL  It  was  then  the  house  of  Sir 
Simon  Preston  of  Craigmiller,  Lord  Provost  of  Edinburgh, 
1567. 

In  1783— A  communication  between  the  old  and  the  new  city 
was  begun,  by  means  of  an  immense  mound  of  earth,  above  800 
feet  in  length,  across  a  deep  morass,  and  made  passable  for  car- 
riages in  three  years.  Whilst  the  mound  was  forming,  it  sunk,  at 
different  periods,  above  80  feet  on  the  west  side,  and  was  again 
filled  up. 

The  extent  of  Edinburgh  is  as  follows: — From  the  west  end  of 
Fountain-bridge  to  the  ^east  end  of  Abbey  Hill  is  above  two 
English  miles.    From  Broughton  on  the  north  to  the  Grange  tolU 


ANNALS.  343 


bar  on  the  south,  is  about  two  English  miks.— The  circumference 
is  seven  English  miles. 

In  1786— The  valued  rents  of  houses  in  Edinburgh,  which  pay 
cess  or  land-tax,  were  more  than  double  what  thev  were  in  1763 ; 
and  in  1791  they  were  more  than  triple.  * 

In  1763— The  revenue  of  the  Post-office  of  Edinburgh  was 
£11,942  per  amnmm. 

In  178d-»The  same  revenue  was  upwards  of  £40,000,  and  is 
since  much  increased. 

In  1763-^There  were  two  stage-coaches,  with  three  horses,  a 
coachman,  and  postilion  to  eaoh  coach,  which  went  to  the  port  of 
Leith  every  hour  from  eight  in  the  morning  till  eight  at  night, 
and  consumed  a  full  hour  upon  the  road.  There  were  no  other 
stage-coaches  in  Scotland,  except  oue,  which  set  out  once  a-month 
for  Loudon,  and  it  was  from  twelve  to  sixteen  days  upon  the 
journey. 

In  1783— There  were  five  or  six  stage-coaches  to  Leith  every 
half-hour,  which  ran  it  in  fifteen  minutes.  Dunn,  who  opened 
the  magnificent  hotels  in  the  New  Town,  was  the  first  person  who 
attempted  a  stage-coach  to  Dalkeith,  a  village  six  miles  distant.^ 
There  are  now  stage  coaches,  flies,  and  diligences,  to  every  con- 
siderable town  in  Scotland,  and  to  mnny  of  them  two,  three,  four, 
andiive:  To  London  there  were  no  less  than  sixty  stage-coaches 
monthly,  or  fifteen  every  week,  and  they  reached  the  capital  in 
four  days: — And,  in  1786,  two  of  these  stage-coaches,  which  set 
out  daily,  reached  London  in  sixty  hours,  by  the  same  road  that 
required  twelve  or  sixteen  days  for  the  established  coach  in  1763. 

In  1763— The  hackney-coaches  in  Edinburgh  were  few  in 
number,  and  perhaps  the  worst  of  the  kind  in  Britain. 

In  1783— The  number  of  hacknev-ooaches  was  more  than 
tripled,  and  they  were  the  handsomest  carriages,  and  had  the  best 
horses  for  the  purpose,  of  any,  without  exception,  in  Europe.  Li 
1790,  many  elegant  hackney-chariots  were  added.  There  are  no 
other  of  the  kind  in  Britain  that  ply  the  streets. 

In  1783— Triple  the  number  of  merchants,  physicians,  and 
surgeons,  kept  their  own  carriages  than  ever  did  in  any  former 
period ;  and  the  number  is  since  increased. 

In  1783^-Several  presbyterian  ministers  in  Edinburgh,  and 
professors  in  the  university,  kept  their  own  carriages ;  a  circum- 
stance which,  in  a  circumscribed  walk  of  life  as  to  income,  does 


•  In  1636— The  rents  within  the  oily  were 

£19,211 

10 

0 

In  1688,        ..... 

24,858 

6 

8 

In  1751,  ,             .            .            .            . 

81,497 

0 

0 

In  1788,         .            .                        .            . 

64,871 

0 

0 

In  1786— The  valued  rente  were  above 

66,000 

0 

0 

In  1792,               .... 

68.997 

10 

0 

In  1 791,  with  Leith  and  Canongate, 

103,922 

0 

0 

In  1792,               .do. 

106,602 

0 

0 

344  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBURGH. 

hooonr  to  the  literary  abilities  of  many  of  them,  and  ia  unequalled 
in  any  former  period  of  the  history  of  the  churdiy  or  of  the  mii- 
▼ersity. 

In  1763^-Literary  property,  or  authors  acquiring  money  by 
their  writings,  was  hardly  known  in  Scotland :  Darid  Hume  and 
Dr.  Bobertson  had  indeed,  a  very  few  years  before,  sold  some  of 
their  woriis ;  the  one  a  part  of  the  '  History  of  Britain,'  for  £200 ; 
the  other,  the  '  History  of  Scotland,'  for  £600 ;  each  2  vols,  in 
quarto. 

In  178d-~the  value  of  literary  property  was  carried  higher  by 
the  Scots  than  ever  was  known  among  any  people.  David  Hume 
received  £5,000  for  the  remainder  of  his  *  History  of  Britain;'  and 
Dr.  Bobertson,  for  his  second  work*  received  £4,500.  In  sermon- 
writing  the  Scots  have  also  excelled;  aiid  although,  in  1763,  they 
were  reckoned  remarkably  deficient  in  this  species  of  composicioo, 
vet,  in  1783,  a  minbter  of  Edinburgh,  Dr.  Blair,  wrote  the  mo^t 
admired  sermons  that  ever  were  published. 

Previous  to  1763,  the  Scots  had  made  no  very  distinguished 
figure  in  literature  as  writers,  particularly  in  the  departments  of 
History  and  Belles  Lettres.  Lord  Karnes  had,  in  1762,  published 
his  'Elements  of  Criticism;'  Hume  and  Bobertson  had  made 
their  first  essays  in  the  line  of  history,  a  short  time  before,  ss 
m^itioned  above. 

In  1783 — ^The  Soots  had  distinguished  theuiselves  in  a  re- 
markable manner  in  many  departments  of  literature ;  and,  within 
the  short  period  of  twenty  years,  Hume,  Bobertson,  Ejunes, 
Orme,  Dalrympies  (Sir  David  and  Sir  John),  Henry,  Tytlers, 
Watson,  Beid,  Beattie,  Oswald,  Ferguson,  Smith,  Monboddo, 
Gregories,  Cullen,  Homes,  Monros,  Black,  Duncan,  Hunter,  Stew- 
art (father  and  son),  Stuart,  Blair,  Mackenae,  Campbell,  Ct^ard, 
Miller,  Macpherson,  Brydone,  Moore,  Smellie,  Mickle,  Gillies, 
Adam,  Sinclair,  and  many  other  eminent  writers,  too  numerous  to 
mention,  have  appeared. 

In  1764 — A  riding  school  was  built  by  subscription.  .  This  in- 
stitution afterwards  received  a  royal  charter,  with  a  salary  of 
£200  per  annum  to  the  master. 

In  1764 — The  first  academy  in  the  kingdom,  for  teaching 
language  and  science  to  the  deaf  and  dumb,  was  begun. 

In  1764 — The  Specuktive  Society  was  instituted.  This  society 
afterwards  built  a  hall  within  the  University,  and  furnished  a 
library  for  the  use  of  the  members.  The  institution  has  been 
highly  useful.  It  can  boast  of  eminent  members  in  the  senate,  in 
the  pulpit,  in  professors'  chairs  in  the  Universities,  at  the  bar,  in 
medicine,  and  in  various  departments  of  life. 

In  1783 — The  Society  of  Antiquaries  was  constituted  by  royal 
charter;  and  in  1792,  published  the  first  volume  of  their  Transac- 
tions. 

In  1783— The  Boyal  Society  of  Edinburgh  was  constituted  by 


ANNALB.  345 

royal  ohaiter,  and  poblisbed  the  first  volume  of  their  Tranaaetions 
in  March  1788,  and  a  seoond  in  1790. 

From  1780  to  1786-^EdiDburgh  produced  two  periodical 
papers,  the  Mirror  and  the  Lounger,  which  hfve  met  with  mucli 
public  approbation. 

In  1786— A  Chamber  of  Commerce  was  oonstitnted  by  royal 
charter,  for  protecting  and  encouraging  the  commercial  and  manu- 
&cturing  interests  of  the  country.  This  institution  has  led  the 
public  attention  to  many  useful  objects. 

There  was  no  law  in  Scotland  making  the  wilful  sinking  of 
ships  a  capital  crime,  till  obtained  by  means  of  this  chamber. 

In  1790 — ^A  society  for  the  improvement  of  wool  was  instituted 
by  Sir  John  Sinclair.  This  institution  has  had  the  effect  of  rous- 
ing attention  to  this  valuable  article  of  manufacture;  and  has  ex> 
cited  much  emulation  among  the  farmers  and  gentlemen.  Much 
labour  and  expense  has  been  bestowed  in  collecting  the  best 
Inreeds  of  sheep,  foreign  and  domestic,  and  spreading  them  over 
the  country. 

In  1791 — A  society  w^  instituted  by  a  few  lay  sons  of  clergy- 
men, for  the  benefit  of  tiie  children  of  tlie  clergy  of  the  esta^ 
blished  church  of  Scotland ;  and  in  1792  the  subscrib<:rs  obtained 
a  royal  charter  of  incorporation. 

In  1763— The  stock  of  the  society  for  propagating  Christian 
knowledge  amounted  to  £30,000. 

In  1792,  the  same  stock  amounted  to  about  £100,000.  An 
hundred  and  sixty  thousand  children  have  been  educated  by  this 
society,  and  there  are  ten  thousand  in  their  schools  this  year, 
1792. 

The  fund  established  in  1744  for  the  ministers'  widows  had 
been  calculated  on  such  just  principles,  that  in  1791  the  stock  was 
above  £90,000.  This  stock  is  lent  out  at  present  on  heritable 
security,  at  4^  per  cent. 

In  1789 — The  foundation  of  a  magnificent  new  college  was 
laid  on  the  16th  of  November ;  the  old  college  having  become 
ruinous,  and  the  class  rooms  being  unfit  to  contain  the  number  of 
students  who  resorted  to  this  celebrated  school  of  science  and 
literature.  So  popular  was  this  measure,  that  in  ^ye  months  the 
voluntary  subscriptions  amounted  to  £16,869,  and  they  are  now 
£.31,600.  The  estimate  for  completing  the  whole  is  about 
£6*^000.-*The  six  columns  in  the  front  of  this  elegant  new 
building  are  not  to  be  equalled  in  Britain.  The  shaft  of  each  is 
23  feet  high,  and  three  feet  diameter,  of  one  entire  stone. 

In  1763— The  number  of  students  at  the  college  of  Edinburgh 
was  about  600. 

In  1791— The  number  of  students  entered  in  the  college  books 
was  1,255. — ^And  in  1792  the  number  was  1,306. 

In  1777— A  new,  elegant,  and  commodious  edifice  for  a  gram- 
mar-school was   built  by  voluntary  subscription.— This   school- 


346  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

house  cost  ifi4,000.  ^  It  consists  of  one  great  hall,  five  teaching 
rooms,  and  a  library,  with  Aoialler  apartments. 

In  1763-— The  namber  of  boys  at  the  grammar-school  was 
not  more  than  200. 

In  1783— The  number  of  boys  at  the  grammar-school  was 
500.-— It  is  believed  the  most  numerous  school  in  Britain. 

In  1788 — ^A.  magnificent  pile  of  building  was  finished,  for  keep* 
ing  the  public  records  and  papers  of  Scotland,  called  the  R^;ister 
Office.  It  had  been  about  eighteen  years  in  its  progress  from  the 
time  of  laying  the  foundation  stone.    It  has  cost  j£36,000. 

In  1788 — A  large  and  expensive  building  was  erected  by  sub- 
scription, called  the  Circus,  *  for  the  purpose  of  exhibiting  feats 
of  horsemanship,  and  pantomime  entertainments.  The  money  re- 
ceived the  first  four  montiis  of  this  exhibition  was  ;63,000. 

In  1792 — The  circus  was  converted  into  a  play-house,  and 
Edinburgh  has  now  two  regular  theatres. 

In  1763— There  were  two  newspapers,  printed  in  small  folio, 
and  the  advertisements  in  each  were  from  ten  to  twenty. 

In  178^— The  half  of  an  Edinburgh  newspaper,  which  was 
bought,  in  1740,  for  ;£36,  was  sold  for  Jl,300. 

lu  1790 — There  were  four  established  newspapers.  And  in 
1792  six  newspapers — the  Courant,  the  Mercury,  the  Advertiser, 
the  Herald,  the  Caledonian  Chronicle,  and  the  Gazetteer.  The 
size  of  the  paper  is  as  large  as  any  of  the  kind  in  Britain,  and  the 
advertisements  in  some  of  them  are  from  60  to  100,  sometimes 
more,  notwithstanding  a  heavy  and  increased  duty  both  on  the 
paper  and  advertisements. 

In  1780 — ^A  regiment  of  1,000  men  was  raised  by  the  volun- 
tary contributions  of  the  citizens,  in  two  months. 

In  1763^*There  were  396  four-wheeled  carriages  entered  to 
pay  duty,  and  462  two- wheeled  carriages. 

In  1790 — There  were~l,427  four-wheeled  carriages  entered  to 
pay  duty,  and  462  two*  wheeled :  and  of  wains  and  carts  6,450. 
Till  of  late,  the  wains  and  carts  could  not  be  ascertained. 

In  1763 — Few  coaches  or  chaises  were  made  in  Edinburgh. 
The  nobility  and  gentry,  in  general,  brought  their  carriages  fi^om 
London ;  and  Paris  was  reckoned  the  place  in  Europe  where  the 
most  elegant  carriages  were  constructed. 

In  1783-^Coaches  and  chaises  were  constructed  as  elegantly  in 
Edinburgh  as  anywhere  in  Europe;  and,  it  may  be  added, 
stronger  and  cheaper.  jVIaiiy  were  yearly  exported  to  Peters- 
burgh,  and  the  cities  on  the  Baltic;  and  there  was  in  1783  an 
order  from  Paris  to  a  coach-maker  in  Edinburgh,  for  one  thousand 
crane-necked  carriages,  to  be  executed  in  three  years.  This 
trade  has  since  greatly  increased. 

*  This  building  has  since  borne  the  various  designations  of  Corn's 
Rooms,  the  Pantheon,  and  the  Adelphi  Theatre. 


AKKALS.  347 

In  1763— There  was  no  such  profession  known  as  a  perfumer : 
barbers  and  wigmakers  were  numerous,  and  were  in  the  order  of 
decent  burgesses !  hairdressers  were  few,  and  hardly  permitted  to 
dress  hair  on  Sundavs ;  and  roanv  of  them  voluntarily  declined  it. 

In  1783— Perfamers  had  splendid  shops  in  every  principal 
street:  Some  of  them  advertised  the  keeping  of  bears,  to  kill 
occasionally^  for  g^reasing  ladies  and  gentlemen's  hair.  Hair- 
dressers were  more  than  tripled  in  number ;  and  their  busiest  day 
was  Sunday.  There  was  a  professor  who  advertised  a  Hair- 
dressing  Academy,  and  gave  lectures  on  that  useful  art. 

In  1763— 'There  were  no  iron  foundries  near  Edinburgh : — 
The  Carron  Company's  work  was  the  only  one  of  tlie  kmd  in 
Scotland,  and  it  had  been  established  but  a  few  years. 

In  1792-— There  were  many  extensive  iron  foundries  in  Soot- 
land,  and  several  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Edinburgh.-^Cast  iron, 
which  was  formerly  import^,  is  now  exported  in  great  quantities. 

In  1792— There  are  several  button  manufactories  lately  esta- 
blished in  the  neighbourhood  of  Edinburgh,  which  were  unknown 
in  any  former  period. 

In  1792 — ^Manufactories  of  shawls  and  casimeres  were  esta- 
blished. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  oonsumpt  of  coals  in  Edinburgh  amounts 
to  500  tons  per  day. 

In  1763— The  starch  manufacture  was  little  known  or  prac- 
tised ;  and  only  about  37,000  pounds  weight  were  manufactured. 

In  1790— There  were  several  starch  manufactories.  The  quan- 
tity entered  was  about  750,000  pounds  weight.-^The  increase, 
713,000  lbs.  A  very  great  proportion  of  this  is  used  for  hair- 
powder. 

In  1763^Tbe  revenue  arising  from  the  distillery,  in  Scotland, 
amounted  to  ;£4,7d9  ISs.  lOd. 

In  1783— The  revenue  arising  from  the  distillery  amounted  to 

£192,000;  consequently  600,000  gallons  of  spirits  must  at  least 

have  been  distilled.*     Since  July  1786,  the  duty  has  been  levied  - 

by  licence  on  the  contents  of  the  stills.     The  quantity  that  might 

reasonably  be  expected  from  the  number  of  stills  entered  should 

be  thus: 

In  the  Lowlands,     1,000,000 
In  the  Highlands,       696,000 

Total  1,696,000  gallons  of  spirits. 

The  legislature  would  act  wisely,  by  lowering  the  duty  on  malt 
liquor,  and  increasing  it  on  spirits. — ^Ardent  spirits,  so  easily  ob- 

*  In  1708— the  year  of  the  Union,  the  quantity  of  spirits  distilled  from 
malted  com  was  60,644}  gallons. 

In  1760—145.460  gallons. 
In  1784—268,503  gallons. 
In  1791—1,696,000!  as  above. 


348  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

tainedy  are  hurtftil  to  the  health,  indiuiryy  and  morals  of  the 
people. 

In  1783 — ^The  gross  rerenue  of  the  excise  was  about  £130,200. 

In  1790— The  gross  revenue  of  the  excise  was  about  £500,000. 

At  the  time  of  the  Union  there  were  no  stamp  duties  in 
Scotland. 

In  1790 — The  revenue  on  stamps  was  above  £80,000  jmt 
oMfittm. 

In  1763— ^There  was  one  glass-house  at  Leith,  for  the  manu- 
facture of  green  bottles. 

In  1783— There  were  three  glass-houses; — in  1790  there  were 
six;  and  as  fine  crystal  and  window  glass  is  made  at  Leith  as  any- 
where in  Europe. 

In  1763— There  were  three  paper-mills  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  £dinbur)B:h. 

In  1790— There  were  twelve  paper-mills  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Edinburgh ;  and  a  vast  quantity  of  printing  paper  was  sent  to 
London,  from  whence  it  used  formerly  to  be  brought.  Some  of 
these  paper-mills  are  upon  a  more  extensive  scale  than  any  in 
Britain. 

In  1763— The  quantity  of  paper  manufactured  was,  6,400  reams. 

In  1791 — The  quantity  of  paper  manufactured  was  upwards  of 
100,000  reams. — Increase  93,600  reams. 

In  1763 — There  were  six  printing-houses  in  Edinburgh. 

In  1790— There  were  sixteen  printing-houses  in  Edinburgh. 

In  1763— »Jhe  printed  cottons  manufactured  amounted  to 
150,000  yards. 

In  1790 — The  printed  cottons  manufactured  amounted  to 
4,500,000  yards.     Increase  4,335,000  yards. 

In  1763— The  Royal  Bank  Stock  sold  at  the  rate  of  £160  per 
cmt.    In  1791,  Royal  Bank  new  Stock  sold  at  £240  per  eetU. 

The  original  shares  of  the  Bank  of  Scotland,  or  Old  Bank,  of 
£83  6s.  8d.,  sold,  in  1763,  at  £119;  and,  in  1791,  at  £180. 

This  banlE  has  lately  obtained  an  act  of  Parliament  for  denizing 
its  capital,  or  to  raise  it  from  £300,000  to  £600,000. 

The  British  Linen  Company's  Stock,  in  1763,  and  for  many 
vears  later,  sold  at  £40  per  cent,  below  par. 

In  1792— £336  of  the  stock  of  this  company  sold  for  £545, 
that  is  £162  4s.  14d.  per  cent. 

In  the  year  1769 — The  Douglas  and  Company  Bank  was  in- 
stituted, and  the  stock  subscribed  amounted  to  £150,000. — In  a 
few  years  this  bank  by  mismanagement  failed;  and  this  failure 
occasioned  land  to  be  thought  into  the  market,  to  the  value  of 
£750,000. 

Although  this  loss  was  hurtful  to  many  individuals,  the  country 
was  highly  benefited;  for  the  money  having  been  bestowed  prin- 
cipally on  the  improvement  of  the  soil,  the  gain  was  lasting,  and 
genend. 


■ 

In  1763— Heriot's  Hospital,  which  holds  a  great  deal  of  land  in 
the  vicinity  of  Edinburgh,  gave  feus  of  their  ground  at  the  rate  of 
from  3  to  4  bolls  of  barley  per  acre  per  ammmm. 

In  1790 — Herioi  s  Hospital  feued  their  land  at  the  rate  of  from 
8  to  10  bolls  per  acre  yearly.  These  lands  are  now  a  part  of  the 
foundation  of  this  Hospital,  the  revenue  of  which  is  at  present 
between  ^£3,000  and  ;^,000  per  ammm. 

The  sum  that  now  produoes  this  revenue  was,  in  1627,  £29,325 
10s.  1^.;  which  was  lent  out  for  many  years  at  interest  The 
building  of  the  Hospital  cost  £27,000. — Interest  of  money  then 
was  10  per  esnt— ^-There  are  125  boys  in  the  Hospital,  who 
are  maintidned  and  educated  from  7  to  14  vears. 

The  Trinity  Hospital  *  is  a  charitable  foundation  for  decayed 
burgesses,  or  their  widows  and  daughters,  not  under  50  years  of 
age.  The  revenue  in  land,  houses,  and  interest  of  money,  is  about 
£1,100  per  annwm, — There  are  54  old  men  and  women  in  the 
Hospital, — vix.  14  men  and  40  women. 

The  Merchant  Maiden  Hospital  is  a  charitable  foundation  for 
the  education  and  maintenance  of  daughters  of  merchant  burgesses 
of  Edinburgh,  from  8  years  of  age  to  15.  The  revenue  is  about 
£1,400  per  annum.     There  are  80  girls  in  this  Hospital  at  present. 

The  Trades'  Maiden  Hospital  is  a  charitable  foundation  for  the 
daughters  of  decayed  tradesmen,  members  of  the  fourteen  incor- 
porations. They  are  educated  fi*om  8  years  of  age  to  15.— The 
revenue  is  about  £650  per  annum. — There  are  60  girls  in  the 
Hospital. 

Watson's  Hospital  is  a  charitable  foundation  for  the  education 
of  boys,  tlte  sons  or  grandsons  of  decayed  merchants,  rooubers  of 
the  Merchant  Company.  The  sum  mortified  for  this  purpose  by 
George  Watson,  a  merchant,  in  1727,  was  £12,000. — The  revenue 
of  this  Hospital  is  now  nearly  £2,000  per  annum.  The  boys  are 
maintained  and  educated  from  eight  to  fifteen  years  of  age. 
When  put  out  apprentices,  an  apprentice-fee  of  £25  is  allowed ; 
and  if  they  have  behaved  well  during  their  apprenticeship,  they 
are  allowed  £50  to  begin  the  world.  There  are  70  boys  in  this 
Hospital. 

The  Orphan  Hospital  is  a  charitable  foundation  for  maintaining 
and  educating  orphans,  boys  aod  girls,  frum  any  quarter  of  the 
kingdom.  They  are  received  at  7,  and  remain  till  13  or  14  years 
of  age.  They  are  taught  various  trades.  They  make  all  their 
own  clothes,  shoes,  bind  their  own  books,  &c.  There  are  160 
boys  and  girls  in  this  Hospital. 

The  stock  of  the  Royal  Infirmary,  which  in  1750  was  £5,000, 

*  The  Trinity  Oallsffe  church  was  founded  hy  Qneen  Mary  of  Queldres 
in  1462,  and  was  polleS  down  to  make  additional  aocommodation  for  the 
North  British  Bailway  in  1848.  The  Trinity  Hospital  was  built  soon  after 
the  church,  and  shared  the  same  fate  in  1845,  and  Uie  pensioners  are  now 
boarded  oat. 


350  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

in  1790  was  ^635,000.— This  infinnary  admits  above  2,000  padeots, 
annually;  and«  on  an  average  one  only  in  25  dies.  This,  on  oom- 
pariaon  with  other  hospitals,  is  not  to  be  equalled  in  Europe.  An 
account  of  the  most  celebrated  hospitals  in  Europe  has  been  pnb- 
lishedrand,  in  some,  1  in  11  dies;  in  others,  1  in  ld>  and  1  in 
16.  It  is  daily  attended  by  three  physicians;  and  the  members 
of  the  Boyal  Coll^;e  of  Surgeons  attend  monthly  in  their  tarns. 
—-During  the  sitting  of  the  College  from  October  to  May,  two  of 
the  professors  of  medicine  give  cJ^cai  lectures,  on  the  cases  of  a 
selected  number  of  patients. 

In  1763,  one  hundred  students  attended  the  infirmary. 

In  1791,  three  hundred  and  twenty-three  students  attended  the 
infirmary. 

In  1776,  a  public  dbpensary  was  built  by  subscription,  and 
supported  by  voluntary  contributions.  This  charity  is  for  patients 
afflicted  with  chronic  diseases,  or  such  as  render  admission  to  an 
hospital  improper  or  unnecessary.  Tliey  receive  advice  and  me- 
dicine g^tis;  and,  in  the  year  1791,  no  leas  than  15,450  patients 
had  been  relieved. 

The  first  spring  water  brought  to  supply  Edinburgh  was  in 
1681.  A  leaden  pipe  of  three  indies  bore  was  then  laid  from 
Comiston,  about  three  miles  and  a  half  south-west  of  the  city,  by 
one  Bruschi,  a  German  engineer,  and  there  was  no  other  pipe 
completed  till  about  the  year  1772,  when  one  four  inches  and  a 
half  was  laid.  These  in  time  were  found  insufficient  for  supply- 
ing the  inhabitants ;  and,  in  1787,  an  iron  pipe  of  five  inclies  dia- 
meter was  added.  A  second  iron  pipe  of  seven  inches  diameter 
was  laid  in  1790;  and  additional  springs,  three  mUes  farther 
south  than  the  former,  were  taken  in. — These  pipes  have  cost  the 
city  of  Edinburgh  an  immense  sum  of  money,  the  last  one  having 
cost  above  ;£20,000.  The  reservoir  on  the  Castle  Hill  contains 
about  300  tons,  and  the  new  one  at  Heriot's  hospital  contains 
nearly  the  same  quantity.  Edinburgh  is  amply  supplied  with  as 
fine  spring  water  as  any  in  Europe,  and  Leith  now  partakes  of  the 
same  advantage*  On  the  10th  of  May  1792,  after  three  weeks  of 
drought,  these  springs  at  the  fountain-head  yielded  1,060  Scots 
pints  per  minute,  or  3,000  tons  in  24  hours. — After  supplying  all 
the  inhabitants,  a  large  stream  of  limpid  water  runs  down  the 
streets  for  many  hours  day  and  night.  The  like  is  not  equalled, 
it  is  believed,  in  Europe,  except  at  Bern  in  Switzerland. 

In  1763^The  shore-dues  at  Leith,  a  small  tax  paid  to  tlie  city 
of  Edinburgh  on  landing  goods  at  the  quays,  amounted  to  £5S0. 

In  1783— The  shore-dues  at  Leith  were  upwards  of  ^£4,000. 

There  was  a  considerable  importation  of  grain  to  the  port  of 
Leith  in  1783,  not  less  than  jg300,000  sterling  having  gone  o(it 
of  Scotland  for  this  year's  deficiency  of  graii^. 

In  1763,  and  for  some  years  after, — ^There  was  one  ship  that 
made  an  annual  voyage  to  Petersburgh ;  and  never  brought  tallow, 


JLNNALfi.  351 

if  any  other  cargo  offered.     Three  tons  of  tallow  were  imported 
into  Leith  in  1763,  which  came  from  Newcastle. 

In  176d — ^Tbe  ships  from  Leith  and  the  Firth  of  Forth  to  the 
Baltic  amounted  to  some  hundreds.  They  make  two  voyages  in 
the  year,  and  sometimes  three.  In  1786,  above  2,500  tons  of 
tallow  were  imported  directly  from  the  Baltic  into  Leith.  The 
importation  of  Baltic  goods  into  Leith  is  surpassed  by  only  one, 
or  at  most  two  ports  in  Britain. 

In  1763— Every  ship  from  London  or  Petersburgh  to  Leitli 
brought  part  of  her  cargo  in  soap. 

In  1783— Every  sliip  that  went  from  Leith  to  London  carried 
away  part  of  her  cargo  in  soap. 

In  1763 — The  quantity  of  soap  manufactured  was  half-a-mil- 
lion  of  pounds  weight 

In  1790 — The  quantity  of  soap  manufactured  was  six  millions 
of  pounds.     Increase  five  millions  and  a  half. 

In  1763 — The  quantity  of  candles  that  were  entered  amounted 
to  1,400,000  lbs. 

In  1780— The  quantity  was  2,200,000  lbs. 

In  1791— The  quantity  was  3,000,000  lbs.  The  increase  of 
this  article  shows  the  progress  of  manufactures,  for  it  is  believed 
few  candles  are  either  imported  or  exported. 

In  1783 — The  iitcrease  of  tonnage  in  shipping  belonging  to  the 
port  of  Leitli,  since  1763,  was  42,234  tons;  and,  since  that 
period,  has  so  greatly  increased,  that  magnificent  plans  have  been 
formed  for  enlarging  the  present  harbour,  which  is  found  loo 
small  for  the  number  of  ships  resorting  to  it. — In  1791,  the  regis- 
tered tonnage  at  Leith  was  130,000  tons. 

In  1763— There  was  no  such  thing  known,  or  used,  as  an 
umbrella;  but  an  eminent  surgeon,  who  had  occasion  to  walk  a 
great  deal  in  the  course  of  his  business,  used  one  about  the  year 
1780:  and  in  1783,  umbrellas  were  much  used,  and  continue  to 
be  so,  and  many  umbrella  warehouses  are  opened,  and  a  consider- 
able trade  carried  on  in  this  article. — The  fashion  is  spread 
tlirough  Scotland. 

In  1763 — The  wages  to  maid-servants  were  generally  from  £3 
to  £4t  a-year.  They  dressed  decently  in  blue  or  red  cloaks,  or  in 
plaids,  suitable  to  their  stations. 

In  1783— The  wages  are  nearly  the  same ;  but  their  dress  and 
appearance  are  greatly  altered,  the  maid-servants  dressing  almost 
as  fine  as  their  mistresses  did  in  1763. 

In  1763— Few  families  had  men-servants.  The  wages  were 
from  ;£6  to  j^lO  per  annum. 

In  1783  and  1791 — ^Almost  every  genteel  family  had  a  man- 
servant; and  the  wages  were  from  ^10  to  j£20  a-yenr. 

In  1763— A  stranger  coming  to  Edinburgh  was  obliged  to  put 
up  at  a  dirty  uncomfortable  inn,  or  to  remove  to  private  lodgings. 
There  was  no  such  place  as  an  hotel ;  the  word,  indeed,  was  not 


352  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

knowii»  or  was  only  intelligible  to  penoos  aoquainted  with  the 
French. 

In  178d-^A  stranger  might  have  been  aooommodated,  not  only 
comfortably,  but  moet  elegantly,  at  many  pablio  hotels ;  and  the 
person  who,  in  1763,  was  obliged  to  put  up  with  accommodation 
little  better  than  that  of  a  waggoner  or  carrier,  may  now  be 
lodged  like  a  prince,  and  command  every  luxury  of  life.  His 
guinea,  it  must  be  acknowledged,  will  not  go  quite  so  £Bur  as  it  did 
in  1763. 

The  quantity  of  wheat  made  into  flour  at  the  Water  of  Leith 
Mills,  belonging  to  the  incorporation  of  bakers,  was  as  follows: 

IflD-LOTHZAV  BOLLB. 

In  1750  .  M,763 

1760  .....  83,887 

1770  ....  42,896 

1791  .  48,257 

This  gives  the  proportional  increase  at  these  miUs  only ;  for 
besides  these,  there  are  Bell's  Mills,  Silver  Mills,  Canon  Mills,  and 
Leith  MiUs,  that  grind  flour  for  the  city,  all  of  which  have  in- 
creased their  quantities  in  proportion.  The  bakers  of  Dalkeith, 
Musselburgh,  and  Lasswade,  also  send  flour  and  bread  to  the 
Edinburgh  market.  There  must  now  be  above  150,000  boUa  of 
wheat  annually  consumed  in  this  metropolis. 

The  quantity  of  butcher-meat  can  only  be  ascertained  by  the 
number  of  hides ;  and,  for  that  reason,  no  account  can  be  obtained 
of  the  quantity  brought  to  the  Edinburgh  market  by  the  country 
butchers,  who  bring  a  great  deal  thrice  every  week  throughout 
the  year. 

The  number  killed  in  Edinburgh  is  as  follows : 

In  1775—8,354  oxen,— 6,792  calves,— 39,370  sheep,— 47,360 
lambs. 

In  1776,  Edinburgh  and  Leith  included,— 10,091  oxen, — 
8,305  calves,— 49,212  sheep,— 78,076  lambs. 

In  1790,  Edinburgh  only,— 11,792  oxen,— 4,500  calves,— 
37,390  sheep,— and  49,200  lambs. 

The  number  of  hogs  and  pigs  cannot  be  ascertained. 

In  1778— There  were  8,400  barrels  of  oysters  exported  from 
the  city's  fishing-grounds.  This  trade  was  increasing  so  much 
as  to  threaten  the  total  destruction  of  the  oyster-beds.  The  ma- 
gistrates have,  therefore,  prohibited  the  exportation,  and  even  the 
fishing  of  oysters  under  a  certain  sixe. 

Immense  quantities  of  strawberries  are  sold  in  the  Edinburgh 
market  during  the  season,  upon  an  average,  at  6d.  the  Scots  pint, 
equal  to  four  English  pints,  and  without  any  stem  or  husk.  It  is 
estimated  that  100,000  Scots,  or  400,000  English  pints,  are  an- 
nually sold  in  favourable  seasons,  in  the  city  and  suburba,  value 
i2,500. — It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  quantity  consumed  at 


AKKAL&.  358 

the  pleasore-gardens  and  pUoe8  of  eDterUtinineDt  in  the  neigfa- 
bourhood  of  the  city.  It  is  known  that  an  acre  of  acrawberrieB 
has  produced  above  £50. 

It  is  eatimated  that  £1,000  a-year  is  paid  in  Edinburgh  during 
the  months  of  June,  July,  August  and  September,  for  butter 
milk,  or  -sour  milk,  as  it  is  called ;  it  is  sold  at  one  penny  the 
Scotch  pint,  or  four  English  pints. 

In  1763— Edinburgh  was  chiefly  supplied  with  y^getables  and 
garden  stuff  from  Musselburgh  and  the  neighbourhood,  which 
were  called  through  the  streets  by  women  witb  cr§di  or  baskets 
on  their  backs. 

In  1783— The  markets  of  Edinburgh  were  as  amply  supplied 
with  vegetables,  and  every  necessary  of  life,  as  any  in  Europe. 

In  176S-->People  of  fa^on  dined  at  two  o'clock,  or  a  little  after 
it ; — business  was  attended  to  in  the  afternoon.  It  was  a  common 
practice  to  lock  the  shops  at  one  o'clock,  and  to  open  them  after 
dinner  at  two. 

In  1783-^People  of  fashion,  and  of  the  middle  rank,  dined  at 
four  or  five  o'clock :  No  business  was  done  in  the  afternoon,  din- 
ner of  itself  having  become  a  very  serious  business. 
.  In  1763— Wine  was  seldom  seen,  or,  in  a  small  quantity,  at  the 
tables  of  the  middle  rank  of  fieople. 

In  1791 — Every  tradesman  in  decent  circumstances  presents 
wine  after  dinner ;  and  many  in  plenty  and  variety. 

In  1763 — ^It  was  the  fashion  for  gentlemen  to  attend  the  draw- 
ing  rooms  of  the  ladies  in  the  afternoons,  to  drink  tea,  and  to  mix 
in  the  society  and  conversation  of  the  women. 

In  1783 — The  drawiug  rooms  were  totally  deserted;  invita- 
tions to  tea  in  the  afternoon  were  given  up  ;  and  the  only  oppor- 
tunity gentlemen  had  of  being  in  ladies'  company,  was  when  they 
happened  to  mesi  together  at  dinner  or  supper ;  and  even  then, 
an  im])atience  was  sometimes  shown  till  the  ladies  retired.  Card 
parties,  after  a  long  dinner, — and  also  alter  a  late  supper,  were 
frequent. 

In  1763— -It  was  fuhionable  to  go  to  church,  and  people  were 
interested  about  religion.  Sunday  was  strictly  observed  by  all 
ranks  as  a  day  of  devotion ;  and  it  was  disgraceful  to  be  seen  on 
the  streets  during  the  time  of  public  worship.  Families  attended 
church,  with  their  children  and  servants;  and  family  worship 
was  frequent.  The  collections  at  the  church  doors,  for  the  poor, 
amounted  yearly  to  £1,500,  and  upwards. 

In  1783-— Attendance  on  church  was  greatly  neglected,  and 
particularly  by  the  men.  Sunday  was  by  many  made  a  day  of 
relaxation  ;  and  young  people  were  allowed  to  stroll  about  at  all 
hours.  Families  thought  it  ungenteel  to  take  their  domestics  to 
church  with  them.  The  streets  were  far  from  being  void  of  peo- 
ple in  the  time  of  public  worship ;  and,  in  the  evenings,  were  fre- 
quently loose  and  riotous;  particularly  owing  to  bands  of  appreu- 

z 


354  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

tioe  boys  and  young  lads.  Family  worship  was  almoat  disused. 
The  collections  at  the  church  doors  for  the  poor  had  fallen  to 
^1,000. 

In  1791— -The  collections  at  the  diuich  doors  had  risen  to 
^61,200. 

In  1763— Masters  took  charge  of  their  apprentices^  and  kept 
them  under  their  eye  in  their  own  houses. 

In  1783— Few  masters  would  receive  i4)prentioes  to  stay  in 
their  houses,  and  yet  from  them  an  important  part  of  succeeding 
society  is  to  be  formed.  If  they  attended  their  hours  of  business, 
masters  took  no  further  charge. 

In  1791— The  wages  to  journeymen  were  greatly  raised  since 
1763,  and  disturbances  frequently  happened  for  a  still  further 
increase.  Yet  many  of  them  riot  on  Sunday,  are  idle  all  Mon- 
day, and  can  afford  to  do  this  on  five  days'  labour. 

In  1763 — ^The  clergy  visited,  catechised,  and  instructed  tiie 
families  within  their  respective  parishes,  in  the  principles  of  mo- 
rality, Christianity,  and  the  relative  duties  of  life. 

In  1783— Visiting  and  catechising  were  disused  except  by 
very  few,  and  since  continue  to  be  so :  Nor,  perhaps,  would  the 
clergy  now  be  received  with  welcome  on  such  an  occasion.  If 
people  do  not  choose  to  go  to  church,  they  may  remain  as  igno- 
rant as  Hottentots,  and  the  Ten  Commandments  be  as  little  known 
as  obsolete  acts  of  parliament.  Religion  is  the  only  tie  that  can 
restrain,  iq  any  degree,  the  licentiousness  either  of  the  rich,  or  of 
the  lower  ranks ;  when  that  is  lost,  ferocity  of  manners,  and  every 
breach  of  morality  may  be  expected. 

Hoc  fonte  derirata,  dades 
In  patriam  popalamque  flazit. 

In  1748— The  first  correction-house  for  disorderly  females  was 
built,  and  it  cost  jei98  Os.  4j^. 

In  1791— Manners  had  been  for  some  years  so  loose,  and 
crimes  so  frequent,  that  the  foundation  of  a  large  new  house  of 
correction,  or  Bridewell,  was  laid  on  the  30th  of  November, 
which  will  cost  ^£12,000. 

In  1763— From  June  1763  to  June  1764,  the  expense  of  the 
correction-house  amounted  to  £^  16s.  1-^d. 

In  1791,  and  some  years  previous— -The  expense  of  the  correc- 
tion-house was  near  ;^00,  ten  times -what  it  had  been  in  the  for- 
mer period ;  and  there  is  not  room  for  containing  the  half  of 
those  that  ought  to  be  confined  to  hard  labour. 

In  1763— House-breaking  and  robbery  were  extremely  rare. 
Many  people  thought  it  unneces»ary  to  lock  their  doors  at  night. 

In  1783,  1784,  1785,  1786,  and  1787— House-breaking, 
theft,  and  robbery,  were  frequent ;  and  many  of  these  crimei^ 
were  committed  by  boys,  whose  age  prevented  them  from  being 
objects  of  capital  punishment.    During  the  winter,  1787,  many 


ANNAL&  355 

robberies  and  abop-breakings  were  oommitted,  by  means 
before  unthought  of;  but  tbe  gang  were  diaoovered. 

In  no  reapect  was  the  aobriety  and  decoram  of  the  lower  ranks 
in  1763  more  remarkable,  than  by  contrasting  them  with  the  riot 
and  licentiousness  of  1783,  particularly  on  Sundays  and  holidays. 
The  King's  birth-day,  and  tlie  last  night  of  the  year,  were,  in  1783, 
devoted  to  drunkenness,  and  riot, — in  1763  they  were  peaoeftd.' 

In  1763,  and  many  years  preceding  and  following,  tbe  execu- 
tion of  criminals  was  rare:  Three  annually  were  reckoned  the 
average  for  the  whole  kingdom  of  Scotland.  There  were  three 
aucceeding  years,  (1774,  1775,  1776),  in  which  there  was  not  an 
execution  in  Edinburgh. 

In  1783-^There  were  six  criminals  under  sentence  of  death  in 
Edinburgh -jail,  in  one  week;  and,  upon  the  autumn  circuit,  no 
leas  than  thirty-seven  capital  indictments  were  issued. 

During  the  winter  17D1-2, — there  was  not  a  robbery,  house- 
breaking, shop-breaking,  nor  a  theft  publicly  known,  to  the  amount 
of  forty-sliilUngs,  within  the  city  of  Edinburgh ;  not  a  person  ac- 
cused of  a  capital  crime;  and,  in  the  jail,  only  twenty  for  petty 
offences,  and  nineteen  confined  for  small  debts. 

In  1789— -A  society  was  instituted  for  promoting  religious 
knowledge  among  the  poor,  or  the  ignorant  and  indigent  members 
of  the  community.  No  society  is  more  likely  to  be  of  benefit. 
They  print  books  of  moral  and  religious  instruction,  which  are 
diflused  among  the  lower  ranks.  This  was  a  favourite  scheme  of 
the  late  Lord  Karnes,  but  it  was  never  carried  into  execution  in 
his  time.  A  worthy  lady  left,  in  1792,  £700  to  promote  the  ob- 
ject of  thi:^  institution. 

In  1763— There  was  no  such  diversion  as  public  cock-fighting 
in  Edinburgh. 

In  1783— There  were  many  public  cock-fighting  matches,  or 
mains,  as  they  are  technically  termed ;  and  a  regular  cockpit  was 
built  for  tbe  accommodation  of  this  school  of  gambling  and  cruelty, 
where  every  distinction  of  rank  and  character  is  levelled. 

In  1790 — The  cockpit  continued  to  be  frequented. 

Before  1790 — There  never  was  such  a  thing  known  as  professed 
bruisers.  But  iu  the  course  of  that  year  a  person  from  England 
opened  a  public  school  for  teaching  boxing,  or  pugilism,  as  it  i^ 
termed ;  and  he  had  several  public  exhibitions  at  his  school,  but 
few  pupils.  This  branch  of  education  does  not  correspond  with 
the  mild  genius  of  Christianity,  which  we  profess;  and  it  can  be 
looked  on  only  with  pity,  even  when  practised  among  savages  and 
barbarians. 

In  1792 — This  folly,  which  had  been  borrowed  from  the  south, 
was  totally  given  up. 

In  1790— Among  the  lower  orders  swearmg  had  increased 
greatly.  And  on  trials  in  the  courts  of  law,  perjury  had  al^^o 
increased. 


356  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBOH. 

la  1791 — Iminodanto  drinkmg  was  out  of  fitthioa  among  gen- 
ted  people.  Every  one  was  allowed  to  do  as  he  pleased,  in  filling 
or  drinking  his  glass.  The  means  of  hospitality,  and  the  fre- 
quency oi  showing  it,  had  increased  >— and  ezoeas  on  such  occa- 
sions had  decrea«ed. 

In  1763— In  the  best  families  in  town,  the  edocation  <^  daogh- 
ters  was  fitted,  not  only  to  embellish  and  improve  thor  minds, 
but  to  accomplish  them  in  the  useful  and  necessary  arts  of  domestie 
economy.  The  sewing-school,  the  pastry-schooU  were  then  essen- 
tial branches  of  female  education;  nor  was  a  young  lady  of  the 
best  family  ashamed  to  go  to  market  with  her  mother. 

In  i7dd*-The  daughters  of  many  tradesmen  consumed  the 
mornings  at  the  toilet,  or  in  strolling  firom  shop  to  shop.  Many 
of  them  would  have  blushed  to  have  been  seen  in  a  market.  The 
cares  of  the  family  were  devolved  upon  a  housekeeper;  and  the 
young  lady  employed  those  heavy  hours  when  she  was  disengaged 
from  public  or  private  amusements,  in  improving  her  mind  £rom 
the  precious  stores  of  a  circulating  library ; — and  all,  whether  they 
had  taste  for  it  or  not,  were  taught  music  at  a  great  expenoe. 

In  1791 — There  is  little  alteration.  Every  rank  is  eager  to 
copy  the  manners  and  fashion  of  their  superiors;  and  this  has  in  all 
ages  been  the  case.  Of  what  importance,  then,  is  correct  and  ex- 
emplary manners  in  the  higher  ranks  to  the  good  order  of  society! 

In  1791 — Boys,  from  bod  example  at  home,  and  worse  abroad, 
had  become  forward  and  insolent. 

In  1763 — The  weekly  concert  of  music  began  at  six  o'clock. 

In  1783 — The  concert  began  at  seven  o'clock ;  but  it  was  not 
in  general  so  much  attended  as  such  an  elegant  entertainment 
should  have  been,  and  which  was  given  at  the  sole  expence  of  the 
subscribers. 

In  179 1-2 — The  fashion  changed,  and  the  concert  became  the 
most  crowded  place  of  amusement. 

In  1763— The  question  respecting  the  morality  of  stage-plays 
was  much  agitated.  A  clergyman,  a  few  years  before,  had  been 
brought  before  the  General  A;ssembly  of  the  church,  and  suspended 
from  his  office,  for  having  written  a  tragedy,  unquestionably  one 
of  the  most  chaste  and  interesting  in  the  English  language- 
Douglas  by  Home.  By  those  who  attended  the  Theatre,  even 
without  scruple,  Saturday  night  was  thought  the  most  improper 
in  the  week  for  going  to  the  play.  Any  clergyman,  who  had  been 
known  to  have  gone  to  the  playhouse,  would  have  incurred  church 
censure. 

In  1783^-The  morality  <5f  stage-plays,  or  their  effects  on  so- 
ciety, were  not  thought  of.  The  most  crowded  houses  were 
always  on  Saturday  night.  The  boxes  for  the  Saturday  night's 
play  were  generally  taken  for  the  season,  no  that  strangers  often 
on  that  night  could  not  get  a  place.  The  ctistom  of  taking  a  box 
for  the  Saturday  night  through  the  season,  was  much  practised  by 


ANNiLLS.  ^  357 

boarding  mUtresses,  so  that  there  could  be  do  choioe  of  the  play, 
bat  the  young  ladies  could  only  take  what  was  set  before 
them  by  the  manager.  Impudent  buffoons  took  liberties  with 
authors,  and  with  t£e  audience,  in  their  acting,  that  would  not 
have  been  suffered  formerly. 

The  galleries  never  failed  to  applaud  what  they  formerly  would 
have  hined,  as  improper  in  sentiment,  or  decorum. 

In  1763— There  was  one  dancing  assembly-room;  the  profits  of 
which  went  to  the  support  of  the  charity-workhouse.  Minuets 
were  danced  by  each  set,  previous  to  the  country-dances.  Strict 
regularity  with  respect  to  dress  and  decorum,  and  great  dignity 
of  manners,  were  observed. 

In  1786-— The  old  assembly-room  was  used  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  city-guard.  Tliere  were  three  new  elegant  assembly- 
rooms  at  Edinburgh,  but  the  charity  workhouse  was  unproAdded 
for  to  the  extent  of  its  necessities. — Minuets  were  given  up,  and 
country-dances  only  used,  which  had  often  a  nearer  resemblance 
to  a  game  of  romps,  than  to  elegant  and  graceful  dancing.  Dress, 
particularly  by  the  men,  was  much  n^lected ;  and  many  of  them 
reeled  from  the  tavern,  flustered  with  wine,  to  an  assembly  of  as 
elegant  and  beautiful  women  as  any  in  Europe. 

In  1763 — The  company  at  the  public  assemblies  met  at  five 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  the  dancing  began  at  six,  and  ended 
at  eleven,  by  public  orders  of  the  manager,  which  were  never 
transgressed. 

In  1790  and  1791 — The  public  assemblies  were  little  frequented. 
Private  balls  were  much  in  fashion,  with  elegant  suppers  after 
them,  and  the  companies  seldom  parted  till  three,  four,  or  five  in 
the  morning. 

In  178d---The  funds  of  the  charitv  workhouse  were  insufiicienr 

■ 

to  maintain  the  poor  of  the  community  entitled  by  law  to  public 
charity.  The  courts  of  law,  and  all  who  call  themselves  members 
of  those  courts,  pay  no  poor's  money,  nor  lamp  or  guard  money ; 
although  the  most  opulent  part  of  the  community;  whilst  they 
send,  at  the  same  time,  a  very  great  proportion  of  managers  to 
dispose  of  funds  to  which  they  do  not  contribute,  and  crowd  the 
house  with  their  poor,  to  whose  support  they  do  not  pay.  Thi& 
privilege  is  pleaded  on  old  acts  of  Parliament,  at  a  period  when 
the  courts  were  ambulatory.  But  now  that  they  have  been  sta- 
tionary for  near  two  centuries,  it  is  full  time  it  were  given  up. 
There  is  no  such  privilege  existing  anywhere  else  in  Britain. 


ANNALS. 


PART  IV. 

FROM  THE  A.0CB8S10V  OF  GEOBGE  IV.,  18S0,  TO  THE 
CLOSE  OF  THE  BEIGN  OF  WILLIAM  IV.,  1887. 


HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 


AMtfM«MMM^^W«AMMMMMWW«MAM^mM^ 


PAET  IV. 

Ok  8d  February,  1820,  George  IV.  was  proclaimed 
King  at  the  Iloyal  Exchange,  the  Castle,  and  at 
Holyrood.  The  streets  were  lined  with  military,  and  an  im- 
posing procession  of  all  the  public  bodies  took  place  on  the 
occasion.  George  III.  was  buried  on  the  lOfh  of  the  same 
month,  and  that  afternoon  all  business  was  suspended  in  Ed- 
inburgh— the  bells  were  tolled,  and  the  Castle  fired  a  gun 
every  four  minutes  from  three  to  five  o'clock  P.  M. — Such 
was  the  public  etiquette  or  observance  pursued  in  the  capital 
of  Scotland.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  new  reign  was 
conferring  a  baronetcy  on  an  Edinbui'gh  citizen — Sir 
Walter  Scott. 

In  the  beginning  of  April,  1820,  there  was  again  consider- 
able alarm  in  Edinburgh  about  riots  in  Glasgow,  and  the 
city  of  Edinburgh  troop  of  ^lid-Lothian  yeomanry,  under 
the  command  of  Lord  Elcho,  was  marched  off  to  the  West 
country.  A  slight  engagement  between  the  rioters  and 
some  troops  occurred  at  Bonnymuir,  near  Falkirk,  which 
bad  a  material  effect  in  putting  an  end  to  these  disturbances. 

JBr.  Stromas  Broton* 

Dr.  Thomas  Brown,  the  distinguished  metaphy- 
sician, was  bom  at  Kirkmabreck  in  Galloway,  9th 


362  HI8T0BT  OP  EDQCBUBaH. 

JaniuQyi  1778«  He  lost  his  fiuher  while  in  in&ncr,  and 
then  resided  with  his  mother  in  Edinboigh,  in  1792  he 
attended  the  Univenitj.  In  1797,  Brown,  along  with 
Ersldne,  Broogham,  Birkbeck,  Logan  and  Leydai,  after- 
wards joined  by  Homeri  Smith,  and  JeflSney,  fonned  them- 
selres  into  a  literary  society,  which  they  styled'  the  Aca- 
demy of  Physics,  and  from  this  dnb  sprung  the  Edinburgh 
Review.  His  first  work  was  ^  Observations  on  Darwin's 
Zoonomia,'  published  in  1798,  which  showed  the  natural 
bent  of  his  genius.  His  Essay  on  '  Cause  and  Efiect '  ap- 
peared first  in  1805,  and  in  1806  be  practised  as  a  physician 
in  partnership  with  Dr.  Gregory.  In  1810  he  was  appointed 
assutant  and  successor  to  Dugald  Stewart  in  the  Moral 
Philosophy  chair,  Edinburgh  IJnirersity.  Brown  was  ambi- 
tious of  distinguishing  himself  as  a  poet,  and  of  many  poetical 
productions  the  ^  Paradise  of  Coquettes,'  written  in  the  style 
of  Pope,  is  his  best.  His  lectures  in  the  Professorial  chair, 
added  to  the  fame  of  the  Uniyersity.  He  died  at  London, 
2d  April,  1820.  His  lectures  were  published  in  four  toI- 
umes,  after  his  decease. 

The  Bill  of  Pains  and  Penalties,  brought  into  the  House 
of  Peers,  against  Caroline  of  Brunswick,  the  Queen  of 
George  lYi^  excited  an  intense  sensation  in  Edinburgh  as 
in  other  parts  of  the  country,  and  its  withdrawal  by  the  min- 
istry was  a  step  in  unison  with  the  public  feeling.  A  partial 
illumination  took  place  on  this  erent,  17th  November  1820. 
Much  damage  was  done  by  a  mob  breaking  those  windows 
that  were  not  illuminated. 

A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  in  the  Pantheon, 
head  of  Leith  Walk,  16th  December,  1820,  to  petition  his 
Majesty  to  dismiss  the  Ministry — James  Moncreiff,  Advo- 
cate, (afterwards  Lord.  Moncreiff)  in  the  chair.  Jeffirey 
made  a  brilliant  speech  on  the  occasion,  and  about  3,000 
people  were  present.  This  petition  was  signed  by  17,363 
persons,  with  their  places  of  residence  attached  to  their  names. 


1880.  AKKAL6.  368 


Aboat  this  period  a  new  era  in  the  conduct  of  the 
burgh  people  arose; — ^public  meetings  came  to  be  held  on 
every  matter  in  which  the  inhabitants  took  much  interest, 
and  it  was  probably  attended  with  this  advantage,  that 
they  stimulated  the  public  mind  and  operated  as  a  safety- 
valye  in  giving  vent  to  the  wishes  of  the  inhabitants,  and 
preventing  any  thing  like  riot  or  disturbance  on  public  affidrs. 

John  Bell,  a  fBimous  surgeon  in  Edinburgh,  was 
bom  in  1762.    He  was  a  pupil  of  the  well-known 
medical  practitioner,  Alexander' Wood,  or  Sandy  Wood  as 
he  was  familiarly  called. 

In  1786  he  delivered  lectnres  on  Surgery,  and  he  con- 
tinued these  tiU  1796  when  he  devoted  his  time  to  practice, 
and  as  a  Surgical  operator  he  long  stood  at  the  head  of  his 
profession.  His  ^  Anatoxny  of  the  Human  Body  *  was  pub- 
lished in  consecutive  volumes  towards  the  end  of  the  century. 
He  was  a  kindly  and  liberal  man.  He  died  at  Borne  in 
1820. 

8r«  go^n  hurras* 

Dr.  John  Murray,  an  eminent  chemist,  was  edu- 
cated at  Edinburgh,  and  became  a  distinguished  and 
popular  lecturer  on  Chemistry  and  Natural  Philosophy,  at 
his  rooms  in  Nioolson  Street.  Dr.  Murray  wrote  a  '  Sys- 
tem '  and  '  Elements '  of  Chemistry,  and  Elements  of  Ma^ 
teria  Medica  and  Pharmacy.  He  was  also  the  author  of 
some  papers  in  the  Edinburgh  Beview.  He  died  at  Edin- 
burgh 1820. 

It  had  been  usual  in  Edinburgh  for  the  two  great 

parties  which  existed  there,  as  elsewhere  in  Britain, 

under  the  designation  of  Whigs  and  Tories,  to  hold  occa- 


364  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUH6H. 

sionally  great  festivals  in  IionQor  of  their  political  principles; 
and  the  birth-day  of  their  respective  statesmen  Pitt  and 
Fox,  was  generally  selected  as  the  occasion  of  such  demon- 
strations; but  probably,  from  political  feelings  having  become 
a  little  keener  than  osual,  tliis  year  the  remarkable  occur- 
rence took  place  of  a  grand  celebration  being  held  by  both 
on  the  same  day — 12th  January,  1821,  the  anniversary 
of  the  birth  of  Charles  James  Fox.  The  Whigs  dined  in 
Oman's  Waterloo  Rooms,  mustering  about  500 — the  Earl 
of  Bosslyn,  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  Peninsular  war,  in  the 
chair,  supported  by  Lord  Dundas,  Lord  Glenorchy  (now 
Marquis  of  Breadalbane),  Sir  Henry  Moncreiff,  John  Clerk, 
Jeffrey,  Cockbum,  Murray,  and  all  the  celebrated  Whig 
orators  of  the  day  being  present.  The  meeting  went  off 
with  great  eclaU  The  Pitt  club  dined  in  the  Assembly 
Rooms,  George  Street — the  Marquis  of  Huntly  in  the  chaii*, 
the  Marquis  of  Lothian  croupier,  and  a  party  of  500  pre- 
sent there,  wliilst  Sir  Walter  Scott  presided  over  a  smaller 
party  of  200  in  the  adjoining  room. 

.^  At  this  time  political  feeling  ran  high.  We  have  now  ar- 
rived, it  is  to  be  hoped,  at  a  happier  period,  when  the  wea- 
pons of  party  warfare  are  laid  aside,  and  statesmen,  without 
regard  to  party  distinction,  at  the  same  time  without  sacri- 
fice of  principle,  agree  to  act  together  in  the  government  for 
the  public  weal. 

One  of  the  finest  columns  in  Edinburgh  is  the  monu- 
ment to  Lord  Melville  in  St.  Andrew's  Square.  It  is  similar 
to  Trajan's  column  at  Rome,  and  resembles  the  column  at 
the  Place  Yeudome  at  Paris.  The  foundation-stone  of  this 
building  was  laid  28th  April,  1821,  by  Admiral  Sir  David 
Milne.  The  height  is  136,  and  the  statue  on  the  top  14  feet. 
The  19th  July,  1821,  was  one  of  those  idle  days  in  Edin- 
burgh the  utility  of  which  is  perhaps  doubtful.  It  was  the 
coronation  of  George  lY;  the  population  were  all  adrift 
and  perambulating  the  streets;  a  hundred  banners  were 
waving  from  the  ancient  fortress;  the  troops  fired  a  feu  de 


1821.  AKKAL&  365 

ioie,  and  in  the  evening  the  dtj  was  brilliantly  illuminated. 
Nineteen  days  ait§r  this  rejoicing,  the  King's  consort,  Caro- 
line of  Brunswick,  died  of  a  few  days'  illness. 

A  new  weekly  journal,  called  the  ^  Beacon,'  was  started  in 
Edinburgh,  January  1821.  It  was  distingmshed  for  its 
violent  ultra-tory  politics  and  severe  personalities,  and  it 
soon  roused  such  a  feeling  that  it  died  not  a  violent  but  a 
natural  death  the  same  vear  that  it  started  into  existence. 


Or.  9wm%  Grrgors. 

Dr.  James  Gregory,  the  author  of  the '  Conspectus 
Theoretics  Medicinse,'  was  the  son  of  Dr.  John 
Gregory.  He  was  born  in  1753,  and  long  known  in  Edin- 
burgh as  the  most  eminent  physician  of  his  day.  He  suc- 
ceeded to  the  chair  of  the  Theory  of  Physic  in  Edinburgh 
Universit}'  in  1776,  and  published  his  famed  work,  the 
'Conspectus,'  in  1780.  In  the  capital  of  Scotland,  ^to 
consult  Gregor}' '  became  general  with  invalids.  He 
was  a  kind-hearted  and  generous  man.  He  died  2d  April, 
1821,  and  was  interred  in  the  Canongate  church-yard; 
u  great  portion  of  the  respectable  inhabitants  attending  his 
funeral. 

JToiin  Banatttnnc. 

John  Ballantyne,  the  younger  brother  of  James, 
was  bom  at  Kelso  in  1774.  He  assisted  his  brother 
in  editing  '  The  Kelso  Mail,'  and  afterwards  commenced 
business  in  Edinburgh  as  a  bookseller  and  publisher,  and 
at  a  latei*  period  also  became  the  crack  auctioneer  of  books  and 
articles  of  vertu  in  Edinburgh.  He  was  the  friend  and  con- 
fident of  Sir  Walter  Scott  in  the  pubh'cation  of  the  Waverley 
Novels,  and  was  himself  the  author  of  a  novel  called  the 
*  Widow's  Lodgings.'  He  was  a  clever,  active,  quick-witted, 
little  creature.     Sir  Walter  Scott  gave  him  the  soubriquet 


366  HISfTOBT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 


of  Bigdwnfumdo$,     This  curious  compound  of  printer, 
bookseller,  editor,  auctioneer,  end  author,  died  in  1821. 

Sir  VUxwomtt  BontorlL 

Sir  Alexander  Boswell,  of  Aochinleck,  the  son  of 

1822.  ^^ 

the  biographer  ofDr.  Johnson,  was  bom  in  1775.  He 
was  a  num  of  considerable  talent.  In  1803  he  brought  out 
anonymously  ^  Songs  chiefly  in  the  Scottish  dialect.'  Several 
of  them  had  previously  become  popular,  among  which  were 
^  Taste  life's  glad  moments  whilst  the  gentle  taper  ^ows/ 
He  published  in  1810  a  volume  entitled  ^  Edinburgh,  or  the 
Ancient  Royalty,  a  sketch  of  former  manners  by  Simon 
Gray,'  in  which  a  farmer  converses  regarding  the  changes 
in  the  Scottbh  capital.    Alluding  to  these  he  says: 

^*  The  town  maj  be  cloatit  and  pieced  till  it  meets 
A'  neebors  benorth  and  besoath  withoat  baltin' ; 
Brigs  may  be  biggit  ower  lams  and  ower  streets, 
The  Nor-Loeh  itsel'  heap'd  as  high  as  the  Gaiton. 

In  1821,  he  was  created  a  baronet.  The  same  year,  a  severe 
satirical  newspaper  was  started  in  Edinburgh  called  the 
Beacouy  and  when  it  was  stopped,  a  similar  one  under  the 
name  of  the  Sentinel  appeared  in  Glasgow.  To  both  of  these 
Sir  Alexander  Boswell  bad  unfortunately  contributed  some 
severe  personal  squibs,  and  being  prior  to  the  days  when 
that  barbarous  relic  of  feudalism,  duelling,  was  abolished, 
James  Stewart,  yoimger  of  Duneam,  the  party  aggrieved, 
killed  him  in  a  duel  at  Auchtertool  in  Fife,  26th  March, 
1622.  This  event  caused  a  very  painful  sensation  in  Edin- 
burgh, both  parties  being  so  well  known  there. 

The  matters  connected  with  the  Beacon  newspaper  led 
to  a  debate  in  the  House  of  Commons,  19th  June,  1822, 
when  the  Hon.  James  Abercromby,  (now  Lord  Dun- 
fermline) made  a  speech  impugning  the   Lord  Advocate, 


1822.  ANNiX&  367 

Sir  William  Bae,  and  two  of  his  depate  advocates,  for  their 
connection  with  that  newspaper.  In  oonseqoence  of  this, 
one  of  these  latter  gentlemen,  John  Hope,  now  Lord 
Justice  Clerk,  published  'a  Letter  to  the  Hon.  James 
Abercromby,  M.  P.'  Mr.  CTourtena j,  on  the  9th  July,  read 
a  passage  to  the  Hoase  of  Commons  from  that  letter,  and 
moved  '^  that  the  said  passage  commenting  on  the  speech  of 
an  hon.  member,  is  a  breach  of  the  privileges  of  this  house.'' 
This  motion  was  carried  nem.  con.  Mr.  Hope  was  called  to 
the  bar  of  the  House  on  17th  July,  when,  after  hearing  his 
statement,  a  resolution  was  carried  that  the  Speaker  do  com- 
municate to  Mr.  Hope,  that  in  consequence  of  his  ezpla^ 
nation,  the  House  did  not  think  proper  to  interfere  further 
in  the  business. 

No  sovereign  of  the  House  of  Hanover  having  ever  visited 
the  capital  of  Scotland,  it  was  considered  a  remarkable  event 
when  it  became  known  in  the  summer  of  1822  that  George 
IV.  was  to  visit  Edinburgh  in  state.  Great  preparations 
were  made,  and  the  whole  city  was  on  the  qui  vive.  His 
Majesty  arrived  in  his  yacht,  the  Royal  George,  in  Leith 
roads  on  the  14th;  and  the  following  day,  15th  August,  he 
entered  his  barge  for  Leith  harbour  under  a  royal  salute. 
On  his  arrival  he  was  received  by  the  authorities  in  official 
costume.  Sir  Thomas  Bradford,  the  Commander-in-chief  in 
Scotland,  kneeled  and  made  his  obeisance.  Mr.  John  Macfie, 
the  senior  magisti*ate  of  Leith,  \^ith  cbaracteiistic  Scottish 
frankness  held  out  his  hand  to  the  Eang,  which  his  Majesty 
cordially  responded  to.  The  Eling  was  dressed  in  a  rich 
naval  uniform,  with  a  sprig  of  tliistle  and  heather,  in  his  hat. 
He  was  conducted  to  his  state-carriage  drawn  by  eight  horses, 
and  proceeded  by  Leith  Walk  to  Edinburgh— one  of  the  most 
gorgeous  and  splendid  processions  probably  ever  witnessed, 
every  thing  being  conducted  with  admirable  arrangement 
and  taste.  A  barrier  gate  had  been  erected  near  Picardy 
place.  On  approaching  it,  after  repeated  sound  of  trumpets, 
the   Marchmont    Herald   summoned    the   city   to  receive 


368  HIOTORT  OF  EDINBUBGEL 

the  Soveragn.  The  city  Chamberlain  conveyed  the 
sommons  to  the  Lord  Provoet  Arbuthnoti  whom  the  herald 
addressed :  ^  My  Lord,  I  have  the  honour  of  announcing  to 
yonr  lordship,  the  vexy  near  approach  of  oar  most  gradons 
sovereign  the  King,  to  visit  his  most  loyal  and  ancient 
capital  of -Scotland;  and  I  am  commanded  to  request  ad- 
mittance to  the  city  for  himself  and  retinue."  The  Lord 
Provost  ordered  the  gates  to  be  thrown  open  to  admit  the 
Eling.  His  lordship  then  kneeling  presented  the  ancient 
keys  of  the  city,  and  the  magnificent  procession  moved 
on  by  York  Place,  St.  Andrews  Square,  and  the  Begent 
Bridge  and  Calton-hill,  where  the  E[ing  was  struck  with  the 
splendid  view  and  the  appearance  of  the  people.  It  reached 
the  palace  of  Holyrood-house  at  half-past  one  o'clock,  where 
the  Dukes  of  Hamilton,  Montrose,  and  Argyle,  and  a  great 
number  of  officers  of  state,  were  in  waiting  to  receive  the  King. 
In  the  palace  his  Majesty  being  seated  on  the  throne,  the 
ancient  regalia  of  Scotland  were  brought  forward.  The 
Lord  Provost  and  magistrates  then  presented  an  address  of 
congratulation.  In  the  evening  Leith  was  brilliantly  illu- 
minated, and  a  large  bonfire  kindled  on  the  top  of  Arthur's 
Seat.  The  whole  proceedings  of  the  day  terminated  in  the 
most  joyful  and  happy  manner. 

It  was  calculated  that  about  300,000  Scottbh  subjects 
beheld  their  sovereign  that  day.  The  King  proceeded  to 
Dalkeith  palace  in  the  evening.  On  the  Friday  evening 
Edinburgh  was  splendidly  illuminated — three  regiments 
marched  to  Salisbury-crags.  The  Calton-hill  and  Arthur's 
Seat  were  the  scene  of  picturesque  military  encampments, 
and  salutes  from  the  Castle  were  responded  to  by  guns  firom 
these  adjoining  hills.  Next  day  the  King  held  a  levee 
at  the  palace  of  Holyruod.  He  was  dressed  in  a  High- 
land costume  of  the  royal  Stuart  tartan.  After  the  levee 
liis  Majesty  held  a  privy  council  at  the  palace.  Monday 
the-  19th  the  King  held  a  court  at  Holyrood  to  receive  the 
addresses  of  the  different  public  bodies.    On  this  occasion  he 


188S.  ANMAL&  369 

wore  the  order  and  decorations  of  the  Thistle.  The  following 
day  his  Majesty  held  a  drawing-room  at  the  palace,  which 
was  brilliantly  attended.  On  22d  August,  his  Majes^  held 
a  royal  progress  from  the  palace  of  Holyrood  to  the  Castle 
of  Edinburgh.  The  city  was  in  a  state  of  great  excite- 
ment— scaffoldings  for  the  lieges  to  view  the  progress  were 
erected  every  where  on  the  line — ^the  marshalling  of  the 
whole  procession,  and  precedence  of  tlie  different  officials  and 
pubUc  bodies  was  admirably  arranged  by  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
who,  engaged  in  such  a  duty— «was  in  his  native  element.  All 
went  off  most  happily  at  the  Castle.  The  King  came  forward 
on  the  half-moon  batterv  and  waved  his  hat  to  the  assembled 
*  multitudes.  The  procession  i^tumed  by  the  earthen  Mound 
and  PrinceVstreet  to  HohTood.  The  foUowing  day  the 
King  held  a  grand  review  of  the  Cavalry  on  Portobello  sands 
in  the  forenoon,  and  in  the  evening  attended  a  ball  given 
by  the  Peers  of  Scotland  in  George-street  Assembly  rooms. 
On  Saturday  24th  August,  the  Lord  Provost,  magistrates,  and 
council  of  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  entertained  his  Majesty  at  a 
splendid  banquet  in  the  Parliament  House.  The  King  was 
seated^  at  the  up})er  end  in  a  chair  of  state  surmounted  by  a 
canopy  of  crimson  velvet  About  three  hundred  guests  were 
))resent  in  full  dress.  The  King  entered  the  hall  at  half-past 
six  o'clock  conducted  bj*  the  Lord  Provost,  the  band  playing 
God  save  the  King.  After  the  chief  magistrate  had  giveji 
the  public  toasts,  he  had  the  honour  of  receiving  vitxi  voce 
from  his  sovereign  the  title  of  a  baronet.  It  was  done  by 
his  Majesty  rising  and  proposing  the  health  of  the  Right 
Hon.  the  Lord  Provost,  Sir  William  Arbuthnot,  Baronet,  and 
the  Incorporation  of  the  City  of  Edinburgh.  His  lordship 
then  knelt  and  kissed  hands  on  receiving  his  new  title.  The 
King  attended  St.  Giles'  cl)urch  on  Sunday  25th  August, 
Dr.  Lament,  the  moderator  of  the  General  Assembly,  preach- 
ing on  the  occasion. 

The  foundation  stone  of  the  National  Monument  on  the 

Calton-hill,  intended  when  completed  to  be  a  restoration  of 

2  A 


370  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURQH. 

the  celebrated  Parthenon  of  Athens — was  laid  on  27th 
August  by  the  Duke  of  Hamilton, — there  being  a  grand 
public  procession  on  the  occasion. 

After  visiting  several  public  places  iu  tlie  city,  and  some 
of  the  nobility  at  their  neighbouring  seats,  the  King  left 
Edinburgh  on  29th  August  in  his  travelling  carriage  with 
an  escort  of  the  Scots  Greys, — ^the  whole  aiFair  of  the  royal 
visit  having  passed  off  in  a  manner  beyond  the  most 
sanguine  expectations.  The  Archers  formed  the  royal  body* 
guard  on  all  public  occasions  in  Edinburgh,  and  the  im- 
mense concourse  of  the  Highland  chieftains  with  their  clans, 
and  pipers,  and  gillies,  equipped  in  the  genuine  Celtic 
costume,  added  greatly  to  the  picturesque  effect  in  the  streets 
of  Edinburgh. 

A  good  deal  of  discussion  had  arisen  in  Edinburgh  during 
tlie  last  few  years  regarding  the  state  of  the  city's  finances. 
The  magistrates  and  council  published  the  following  official 
statement  of  the  intromissions  of  the  Chamberlain,  with  the 
corporation  funds,  from  Martinmas  1821  to  30th  September 
1822  :— 

TotAl  Amoant  of  reeeipt,    .  £41,373    19    11 

Total  amoant  of  payments,  39,582      8      7 

Sarplos,  £1,841     11      4 

Total  debts  and  engagements  of  the  city  at  30th  September 
1822,  £170,146  Is.  Id.,  and  on  the  29th  September  1823 
this  had  increased  to  £197,547  Is.  lOd.  With  this  heavy 
amount  of  debts,  neai*ly  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  Ster* 
ling,  it  seems  strange  that  the  civic  rulers  in  Edinburgh 
should  not  have  been  on  their  guard  against  increasing, the 
amount  of  the  city's  engagements. 

A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  in  the 
Pantheon,  head  of  Leith  Walk,  on  8th  March,  1823, 
for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  propriety  of  presenting  a 
petition  to  Parliament  to  confer  the  right  of  voting  for  the 
member  for  the  city  of  Edinbuxgh  on  the  householders, 
under  such  limitations  as  to  the  wisdom  of  Parliament  should 


ia2a.  ANNALS.  371 

seem  proper.  About  two  thousand  persons  were  in  the 
Pantheon  on  this  occasion^  and  it  was  sappoeed  that  aboat 
four  times  the  number  would  have  been  present  if  the  house 
could  have  contained  them.  The  town  council  at  this  time 
consisted  of  thirty-three  members  self^elected,  and  these 
possessed  the  right  of  choosing  the  member  of  parliament  for 
Edinburgh.  A  petition  for  the  extension  of  the  franchise  to 
householders  was  unanimously  adopted  at  this  meeting. 
Jeffrey  and  Mo.ncreiff  were  among  the  speakers,  and  the 
petition  was  intrusted  for  presentation  to  the  House  of 
Commons  to  the  Hon.  James  Abercromby,  M.P.  It  was 
signed  by  6,847  householders,  and  presented  by  him  on  the 
6th  May  following,  when  he  gave  notice  that  he  would  next 
session  move  for  leave  to  biing  in  a  bill  in  terms  of  this 
petition. 

Another  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  in  the  same 
place,  2d  July  1823.  The  chief  object  of  which  meeting 
was  to  express  its  abhorrence  and  detestation  of  the  interfer- 
ence of  foreign  despots  in  the  affairs  of  other  governments — 
the  immediate  cause  was  the  invasion  of  Spain  by  the  Bour* 
bons,  under  the  Due  d'Angouleme,  with  the  view  of  over- 
turning the  constitiitional  government  which  the  countr}' 
had  established. 

Murray,  Moncreiff,  and  Cockbum,  were  the  principal 
speakers.  The  primary  resolution  adopted  was  the  follow- 
ing:— "That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  the  war 
now  waged  in  Spain  by  the  armies  of  the  French  king,  and 
under  the  auspices  of  the  great  Continental  sovereigns,  for 
the  avowed  purpose  of  putting  down  all  popular  institutions, 
and  forcibly  establishing  the  principle  that  no  government 
is  lawful  which  does  not  emanate  from  tlie  mere  will  of  an 
arbitrary  monarch,  is  an  atrocions  violation,  not  only  of 
Spanish  freedom  and  national  independence,  but  of  all  those 
principles  upon  which  human  society  depends." 

This  was  followed  l)y  other  resolutions,  and  a  subscription 
in  aid  of  the  cause  of  Spanish  Independence. 


372  HIBTORT  OF  EDINBURGH. 

Six  IKnirs  HadmrtL 

Sir  Henry  Eaebum,  probably  the  most 
trngnished  portrait  painter  Scotland  ever  produced, 
was  born  at  Stockbridge,  Edinburgh,  4th  March,  1756.  He 
was  apprenticed  to  a  goldsmith  in  the  Parliament  Square. 
Even  then  his  natural  bent  of  genius  led  him  to  paint  minia- 
tures. Visiting  London,  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  treated  him 
^nth  great  kindness.  He  then  went  to  Rome,  and  in  1787  re- 
turned to  Edinburgh  and  commenced  portrait  painter,  first 
in  a  fasluonable  house  in  George  Street,  and  then  in  York 
Place,  where  his  house  was  for  many  years  the  locale  of  tlie 
annual  exliibition  of  pictures  by  Edinburgh  artists  prior 
to  the  existence  of  the  beautiful  temples  on  the  earthen 
Mound,  now  the  chosen  seats  of  Scottish  art. 

During  the  following  forty  years  he  painted  the  portraits 
of  the  most  distinguished  citizens  of  Edinburgh  in  the  finest 
style.  Both  the  likenesses  and  the  drapery  of  his  pictures  are 
exquisite.  His  private  residence  was  at  a  beautiful  villa,  St. 
Bernards,  in  the  neighbourhood,  now  incorporated  in  the  city. 
He  was  knighted  by  Greorge  lY.  at  Hopetoun  house  in  1822. 
Sir  Henry  died  8th  July,  1823. 

Z^onuLn  exnkintf  lots  Srsftftte. 

Thomas  Erskine,  Lord  Erskine,  was  the  third  son 

]  823. 

of  David  Earl  of  Buchan.  He  was  bom  in  1748, 
and  was  educated  at  the  High  school  of  Edinburgh,  and 
University  of  St.  Andrews.  He  entered  the  royal  navy  as 
Midshipman  1764,  left  it  for  the  army  in  1768.  He  be- 
came a  student  of  law  at  Lincoln's  Inn  in  1775,  and  in  this 
pi*ofession  he  was  destined  to  attain  the  highest  eminence. 
He  was  called  to  the  bar  in  1778.  His  defence  of  Lord 
George  Gordon  after  the  London  riots  of  1780  was  a  tri- 
umphant pleading,  and  he  soon  occupied  the  public  eye  as  a 
man  of  great  forensic  talent.     On  the  accession  of  the  whigs 


1834.  ANNAL&  373 

to  power  in  1806  he  was  created  a  British  peer  as  Lord 
Erakioe,  and  appointed  Lord  High  Chancellor.  At  Lord 
Melville's  trial  he  presided  as  Lord  High  Steward.  After 
his  retirement  he  prepared  his  ahle  introduction  to  Fox's 
Speeches,  and  wrote  *  Annata,'  a  political  romance  of  great 
power  and  eloquence.  He  was  the  brother  of  the  Hon. 
Henzy  Ersldne,  at  whose  seat  of  Almondell  near  Edinburgh, 
he  died  17th  November  1823. 


^o|n  linpt,  eaxl  of  Itopttutau 

John  Hope,  Earl  of  Hopetoun, whose  bronze  eques- 
trian statue  adorns  the  east  end  of  St.  Andrews 
Square  at  the  area  of  the  Eoyal  Bank — ^was  bom  in  1766. 
He  travelled  on  tbe  Continent  with  Dr.  Gillies,  author  of  the 
History  of  Greece,  as  his  tutor. 

After  a  long  and  splendid  military  career  in  Holland, 
Egypt,  and  the  Spanish  peninsula,  he  was  in  1814  created 
a  British  peer,  as  a  reward  for  his  distinguislied  services,  with 
the  title  of  Lord  Kiddiy,  and  aftenrards  succeeded  his  elder 
brother  as  Earl  of  Hopetoun.    He  died  in  1828. 

On  26th  Februar}^,  1824,  the  Hon.  James  Aber 
cromby — son  of  the  late  gallant  Sir  Balph  Aber- 
cromby — moved  in  the  House  of  Commons  for  leave 
to  bring  in  a  bill  to  amend  and  alter  the  state  of  repre- 
sentation in  the  city  of  Edinburgh.  He  prefaced  this  motion 
with  a  calm  and  sagacious  speech  abounding  with  indispu- 
table facts,  which,  though  not  leading  to  the  desired  result  at 
the  moment,  left  an  indelible  impression  on  the  public  mind. 
The  House  of  Coomions  divided, 

Against  Mr.  Abercromby's  motion,  -  .  .  99 

In  iavonr  of  it,  .  75 

Majority,  34 

The  Royal  Botanic  garden  of  Edinburgh  was  originally 


374  HI8T0RT  OF  EDIKBUB6H. 

formed  bj  Sir  Andrew  Balfoar  and  Sir  Bobert  Sibbald, 
nearly  two  centuries  before,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  palace  of 
Holyrood«  It  was  afterwards  planted  near  the  Trinity  Hoe- 
pital|  and  its  old  locale  there,  went  by  the  name  of  the  Physic 
Gardens  till  within  these  few  years,  when  railways  came  to 
occupy  its  habitat.  In  1767  the  Botanie  Garden  was  removed 
to  the  west  side  of  the  road  to  Leith,  occupying  about  five 
acres.  The  increase  of  buildiog  in  that  quarter  led  to  another 
removal,  and  twelve  acres  were  obtained  for  the  purpose  at 
Inverleith,  northward  of  Canonmills,  which  were  enclosed 
by  a  wall  ten  feet  high;  hothouses  were  built,  heated  by 
steam,  green-houses  erected — ^and  the  removal  of  the  plants 
commenced  in  1821.  This  was  gradually  accomplished,  and 
trees,  thirty  and  forty  feet  in  height,  transported  in  safety  to 
their  abode — and  an  elegant  class-room  built  The  whole 
of  this  splendid  new  royal  Botanic  Gturden  was  opened  in 
1824,  and  now  forms  one  of  the  most  beautiful  objects  with 
which  Edinburgh  is  environed. 

The  large  buildings  at  Tanjieldy  in  the  same  neighbour* 
hood,  were  also  erected  in  1824,  for  the  Oil  Gas  Company. 
The  design  was  that  of  a  Moorish  fortress,  the  idea  of  which 
was  suggested  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  who  was  chairman  of  tlie 
Company,  and  laid  the  foundation  24th  May,  1824.  The 
manufacture  of  oil  gas  being  found  unprofitable,  the  uses  to 
which  these  picturesque-looking  buildings  were  originally 
destined  was  altered. 

Eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-four  will  long  be  remem- 
bered in  Edinburgh  as  the  year  of  the  great  fires.  On 
Thursday,  24th  June,  the  first  of  these  broke  out  at  the  head 
a(  the  Boyal  Bank  Close,  early  that  morning,  and  the  whole 
of  the  large  tenement  second  from  the  Parliament  Square 
was  soon  laid  in  ruins.  The  building,  long  so  well  known 
as  John's  Cofiee-House,  where  many  of  the  public  sales  of 
properties  used  to  be  conducted,  with  the  flats  above,  was 
also  destroyed.    This  included  the  venerable  and  massive- 


1824.  AKKALB.  375 

looking  piazsas,  long  so  familiar  to  the  lieges  cS  Edinburgh 
as  thej  entered  the  Parliament  Square. 

On  S8th  Jtme,  1824,  Mr.  W.  Sadler  ascended  in  a  bal- 
loon from  Heriot's  Hospital;  he  was  accompanied  in  the  car 
by  Mr.  Campbell  of  Saddel.  Great  crowds  were  collected 
on  the  occasion.  The  aeronauts  crossed  the  Firth  of  Fortl), 
and  landed  near  Leven  in  Fife,  after  a  voyage  of  two  hours. 

A  meeting  was  held  on  9th  July,  1824;  to  consider  the 
proprie^  of  offering  some  testimony  of  respect  to  the  me- 
mory of  James  Watt. — On  the  motion  of  Francis  Jeffrey, 
Sir  Walter  Scott  was  called  to  the  chair.  Professor  Pillans 
and  Henry  Cockburn  spoke  in  &vour  of  an  Edinburgh  or 
Scottish  monument  in  honour  of  this  great  man.  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  alluding  to  the  disadvantage  of  having  to  go  to  Lon- 
don to  see  a  monument,  remarked  that  no  man  had  done  so 
much  to  bring  London  near  Edinburgh,  as  James  Watt. 
Though  no  scheme  for  an  Edinburgh  monument  to  Watt 
was  arranged  at  this  meeting — after  the  lapse  of  thirty 
years,  Edinburgh  has  now  got  a  beautiful  statue  of  him 
erected  in  an  appropriate  situation,  the  front  of  the  School 
of  Arts  in  Adam  Square,  executed  by  an  able  and  deserving 
sculptor,  Peter  Slater.  This  accomplishes  what  Lord  Cock- 
bum  very  felicitously  called  an  open  day-light  monument  of 
Watt,  in  Edinburgh. 

The  great  fires  of  this  year  now  resumed  their  ravages, 
and  for  some  time  kept  the  city  in  a  state  of  great  pertur- 
bation and  excitement  On  the  evening  of  Monday  15th 
November,  1824,  a  most  calamitous  and  destructive  one  oc- 
curred at  the  head  of  the  Old  Assembly  Close,  High  Street. 
Four  lofty  tenements  were  destroyed,  occupying  a  space  of 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  length,  and  in  general 
six  storeys  high.  Furniture  was  thrown  out  of  the  windows 
—carried  down  the  stairs  and  piled  up  on  the  street,  which 
was  a  scene  of  wild  confiision — ^whilst  from  the  New  town, 
the  picturesque  and  broken  masses  of  the  Old  city,  with  its 
spires  and  chimneys  splendidly  illuminated  by  the  flames. 


376  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

had  an  appeanmce  of  terrific  grandear.  The  city  had  not 
recovered  from  this  alarm,  when,  next  day  at  noon,  the 
announcement  spread  through  the  town  that  the  Tron  Kirk 
was  on  fire.  Embers  from  the  fire  of  the  preceding  night  had 
ah'ghted  on  the  spire,  which  being  partly  of  wood,  got  ig^ 
nited,  and  bnmt  for  half  an  hour  a  living  mass  of  fiame-^ 
and  being  impossible  to  save  it,  crowds  stood  around  calmly 
surveying  it  as  if  it  had  been  a  speetaeU-^BXid  the  scene 
certainly  was  grand. 

To  the  consternation  of  the  inhabitants  another  great  fire 
broke  out  the  same  night,  at  the  south-east  comer  of  the 
Parliament  Square,  in  one  of  the  highest  tenements,  and  it 
spread  along  all  tho  remaining  east  side.  The  destruction  of 
property  was  very  great,  and  the  city  in  that  quarter  pre- 
sented a  most  extraordinary  scene  of  bustle  and  confusion — 
magistrates,  military,  police,  and  firemen  all  actively  en- 
gaged, endeavouring  to  stay  the  conflagration.  These  tene- 
ments in  the  Square  were  consumed,  leaving  the  lofty  mas- 
sive walls  of  some  of  them  standing  in  a  most  dangerous 
state  without  support,  almost  the  only  remains  of  the  Old 
Parliament  Square! 

Queensberry  House  was  obtained  as  a  shelter  for  the 
poor  sufferers,  about  three  hundred  families  having  been 
rendered  homeless,  and  upwards  of  twenty  people  received 
severe  bodily  injury  and  several  killed.  At  one  time  seri- 
ous alarm  was  entertained  for  the  greater  part  of  the  Old 
town,  from  the  effects  of  the  flying  embers. 

When  this  catastrophe  was  over,  it  became  a  matter  of 
serious  consultation,  what  plan  was  to  be  adopted  to  brinj;^ 
down  the  towering  walls  of  the  burnt  tenements.  It 
was  at  first  thought  of  employing  sappers  and  miners,  bat 
blowing  thetn  up,  or  rather  blowing  them  down  with  gun- 
powder was  the  mode  successfully  resorted  to— the  remainder 
was  then  pulled  down  by  chain  cables. 

On  20th  November,  while  this  work  of  demolition  was 
going  on,  the  surroundincc  buildings  and  St.  Giles's  spire 


1834.  ANNAUS.  377 

were  filled  with  spectators  witnessing  the  scene,  whidi  was 
one  of  a  very  unique  and  extraordinary  character. 

A  grand  musical  Festival  bad  been  held  in  Edinburgh 
the  previous  month;  some  old  people  looked  on  these  fires 
as  a  judgment  or  punishment  for  performing  sacred  music 
at  the  festival  Oratorios. 

Towards  the  close  of  this  same  year,  a  speculative  mania 
arose  in  Edinburgh,  which  displayed  itself  in  attempts  to 
form  a  great  variety  of  joint-stock  companies.  It  is  amusing 
and  instructive  to  look  back  at  the  complexion  of  these 
schemes.  Among  the  earliest  was  the  prospectus  of  a 
Whale  Fishing  Company,  with  a  capital  of  a  quarter  of  a 
million  sterling;  a  Glass  Company,  £100,000;  the  Scottish 
Porter  Brewing  Co.;  Equitable  Loan  Co.,  £75,000;  Wine 
Company  of  Scotland;  Cotton  and  Flax  Spinning  Co., 
£150,000;  a  Distillery  Co.,  £100,000;  Joint-stock  Co.  for 
the  Improvement,  Purcliase,  and  Sale  of  Property;  Scottish 
Union  Insurance  Co.,  5  millions;  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow 
Railroad  Co.,  £300,000;  New  Towti  Markets  Co.,  £20,000; 
Caledonian  Iron  Foundry  Co.;  Australian  Co.;  Scottish 
Wool-Stapling  Co.,  £500,000;  Edinburgh,  Leith,  Glasgow, 
Paisley,  Ardrossan,  and  Troon  Railway,  £300,000;  Scottish 
Union  Banking  Co.,  two  millions;  Scottish  Union  Com- 
mercial Banking  Co.;  Edinburgh  Dairy  Co.,  £30,000; 
Edinburgh  and  Leitli  Railway,  £150,000;  Wilsontown 
Iron  Works  and  Foundrj-  Co.,  £80,000;  Joint-Stock  Com- 
pany for  the  Manufactory  of  Paper,  £150,000;  Commercial 
Marine  Insurance  Company  of  Scotland,  one  million;  Ed- 
inburgh and  Leith  Water  Co. ;  East  Coast  Sea  Fishing  Co. 

From  this  long  list  of  embryo  schemes — the  shares  of 
which  were  sometimes  subscribed  for  in  a  day— K)nly  two 
became  lai*ge  and  extensive  concerns,  the  National  Bank 
and  the  Scottish  Union  Insurance  Company,  both  of  which 
may  be  said  to  have  been  founded  by  Alexander  Hen- 
derson, the  then  chief  Magistrate  of  the  city. 

The  business  of  a  stock-broker  had  been  unknown  in  Ed- 


378  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

inburgfa,  till  these  commercial  speculations  bioogfat  it  into 
existence  this  year^  and  it  now  became  a  regular  trade  or 
profession. 

It  shows  the  gradual  enlargement  of  the  New  town  of 
Edinburgh,  that  the  foundation-stone  of  a  new  church  was 
laid  in  Bellevue  Crescent,  by  the  Lord  Provost,  Sir  YViiliam 
Arbuthnot,  15th  August,  1823.  It  was  built  to  contain 
1,800  sitters,  from  a  plan  by  Mr.  Thomas  Brown ;  its  erec- 
tion cost  £13,000.  It  was  opened  for  public  worship  12th 
December,  1824 — soon  after  being  designated  by  the  name 
of  St.  Mar/s  Church. 

The  New  Academy  on  the  northern  side  of  Edinburgh, 
at  Henderson  Bow,  was  also  opened  this  year,  and  its 
institution  led  to  long  discussions  about  erecting  a  new 
High  School. 

_  Dr.  Johnston  was  bom  in  1733.  He  was  edo- 
cated  for  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  became  min- 
ister of  North  Leith  in  1765.'  He  was  a  man  of  great 
benevolence,  and  was  the  originator  of  the  Blind  Asylum  in 
Edinburgh,  one  of  the  most  useful  of  the  public  charities. 
He  was  a  fine-looking  old  man,  and  died  1824. 

Aleximttet  ftampiielL 

Alexander  Campbell,  the  author  of  ^  Albyn's  An* 
thology,'  a  doughty  literary  Highlander,  was  bom 
in  1764,  at  Tombea,  by  the  side  of  Loch  Lubnaig^  near 
Callender.  He  came  to  Edinburgh  in  early  life,  and  showed 
a  decided  taste  for  the  beautiful  melodies  of  Scotland,  and 
he  became  a  teacher  of  the  harpsichord  and  of  vocal  music; 
and  organist  at  St.  Peter's  Episcopal  chapel.  He  and 
Bums  the  poet  were  intimate  friends,  and  he  was  teacher 
of  music  to  Sir  Walter  Scott.    In  1798  he  published  an  ^  In« 


1825.       '  AKNALfi.  879 

trodnction  to  the  History  6f  Poetry  in  Scotlaody  and  Songs 
of  the  Lowlands/  with  engravings  by  David  Allan.  His 
'  Tour  from  Edinburgh  through  various  parts  of  North  . 
Britain '  appeared  in  1802 ;  his  ^  Albyn's  Antliology '  in  I8I&9 
with  oontributioiis  from  the  most  distinguished  living  Scottish 
poets.  He  died  in  Edinburgh  15th  May,  1824.  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  who  was  always  a  steady  friend  to  him,  attended  his 
frmeral. 

The  Lord  Provost,  Magistrates,  and  Council,  on 
30th  March,  1825,  unanimously  conferred  the  free^ 
dom  of  the  city  on  Henry  Brougham,  Esq.,  M.  P.,  ^^in  testi- 
mony of  their  admiration  of  his  distinguished  talents,  exerted 
on  many  public  occasions  in  behalf  of  objects  of  important 
national  interest;  and  of  the  pleasure  they  experienced  in 
reflecting  that,  as  a  native  of  tlie  city,  he  had  ever  shown  the 
wannest  zeal  for  its  prosperity,  and  as  a  pupil  of  its  High 
school  and  University,  he  had  there  laid  the  foundation, 
and  exhibited  the  early  indications  of  tliose  varied  literar}', 
and  scientific  acquirements  which  have  so  splendidly  adorned 
his  maturer  years.^  On  5th  April  a  public  dinner  was  given 
to  Mr.  Brougham  in  the  George  Street  Assembly  rooms.  It 
created  considerable  excitement  in  Edinburgh.  Five  hundred 
was  the  original  number  of  tickets  issued,  and  they  were  all 
taken  up  in  two  days;  the  number  was  then  extended  to  eight 
hundred.  It  was  remarked  at  the  time  by  a  literary  journal, 
that  Henry  Brougham,  comparatively  a  few  years  before,  had 
left  Edinburgh  with  almost  nothing  to  aid  him,  and  he  now 
came  back  as  a  leading  man  in  Parliament — as  the  leading 
and  most  gifted  counsel  at  the  English  bar,  and  as  one  of 
the  most  able  and  popular  writers  of  the  day. 

Henry  Cockbnm  was  in  the  chair  at  this  large  meet- 
ing, supported  by  Lord  Glenorchy,  (the  present  Marquis 
of  Breadalbane,)  and  Lord  Charles  Russell.  In  his 
notice  of  Brougham,  Cockbum  remarked: — "It  is  now 
almost  twenty  years  since  he  can  be  said  to  have  been  an 


380  mSTORT  OF  EDINBCBOH. 

inhabitant  of  Edinburgh,  and  since  he  left  us,  to  begin  that 
splendid  career  which  he  has  so  saccessfolly  porsned.  He 
was  bred  here;  he  received  the  whole  of  his  edacation  among 
us ;  here  he  formed  liis  earliest  fiiendships,  I  trust  also  his 
dearest  attachments;  it  was  here  he  first  exhibited  those  stu- 
pendous powers  that  made  it  not  a  matter  of  speculation, 
but  certainty,  that  he  would  attain  the  highest  elevation  in 
any  walk  to  which  his  duty  or  inclination  might  lead  him. 
In  the  cause  of  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves,  humanity 
found  a  potent  ally  in  him,  and  the  cause  of  the  education 
of  the  people  is  the  great  ground  on  which  his  reputation 
will  stand.  The  philosophers  of  the  last  age  had  laid  it 
down  as  a  maxim,  that  a  nation  could  only  succeed  in  manu- 
facturing industry,  by  degrading  the  bulk  of  the  people  to 
mere  machines,  a  hateful  doctrine  which  Henry  Brougham 
had  powerfully  refuted.  Till  his  achievements  wBre  viewed 
at  a  certain  distance,  they  will  not  be  seen  in  their  true  light. 
In  those  days  the  Negro  will  be  free— commerce  unshackled, 
and  the  lamp  of  knowledge  will  shed  its  light  in  the  house 
of  every  mechanic,  and  the  cottage  of  every  labourer.'* 

Brougham's  reply  was  with  his  usual  powerful  eloquence 
— <^  Albeit,"  said  he,  ^^  not  unused  to  public  meetings,  I  yet 
feel  inability  to  describe  the  sense  I  entertain  of  tlie  very 
singular  kindness  with  which  I  have  been  this  day  receired  by 
my  fellow-citizens  of  Edinburgh.  I  am  your  fellow-citizen, 
bom,  bred,  and  educated  in  this  town.  How  much  I  owe 
to  that,  I  want  utterance  to  express.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that 
I  owe  every  thing  to  that  education  I  received  in  Edinbui^h. 
I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  seeing  and  considering  many 
methods  of  education,  but  I  have  not  seen  one  plan  or  any 
one  system  so  well  adapted  to  the  teaching  of  youth,  rightly 
to  estimate  the  blessings  of  a  free  goyemment,  and  to  train 
them -up  to  become  good  citizens  and  valuable  members  of 
society,  as  that  adopted  in  the  old  High  school  of  Edinburgh, 
and  the  Scottish  University.  Great  improvements  no  doubt 
will  be  made,  and  are  daily  making,  in  the  education  of  youth. 


1825.  ANNALS.  381 

and  it  is  none  of  the  least  that  these  seminaries  are  capable 
of  improving  their  methods  of  education.  But  what  I  have 
to  say  of  the  High  school  of  Edinburgh,  is  tliis — ^that  such 
a  school  is  altogether  invaluable  in  a  free  state-^in  a  state, 
having  higher  objects  in  view  than  a  mere  knowledge  of  the 
Latin  and  Greek  languages  and  the  study  of  Prosody.  A 
school  like  the  High  school  of  Edinburgh  is  invaluable, — and 
for  what  is  it  so?  It  is  because  men  of  the  highest  and 
lowest  rank  in  societv  send  their  children  to  be  educated  at 
that  school.  One  of  those  at  the  class  I  attended  is  now  a 
nobleman  in  the  House  of  Peers,  and  some  of  them  again 
were  shopkeepers  in  the  lowest  part  of  the  Cowgate  of  Edin- 
burgh, and  one  or  twaof  them  were  the  sons  of  menial 
servants  in  the  town.  There  they  were,  sitting  side  by  side, 
giving  and  taking  places  from  each  other  without  the  slightest 
impression  of  superiority  or  inferiority  on  account  of  rank. 
This  is  my  reason  for  preferring  the  old  High  school  of 
Edinburgh,  to  a  Patrician  school,  how*ever  well  regulated  or 
conducted.  As  to  the  College  of  Edinburgh,  it  enjoys  many 
singular  benefits.  Kot  only  the  greatest  men  of  genius  and 
the  first  scholars  of  the  present  day  have  been  educated  in  it, 
but  it  has  that  which  in  my  opinion  makes  it  greatly  superior 
to  any  school  of  education  in  the  South,  established  on  mere 
monastic  rules  and  princi])les,  namely,  that  the  youth  live 
under  tlieir  father's  roof  w^bile  at  College,  and  enjoy  the 
invaluable  advantage  of  sound  morals  and  parental  restraint: 
and  in  the  sister  kingdom,  schools  have  been  established  and 
are  now  establishing  on  the  model  of  the  High  school  of 
Edinburgh,  and  steps  are  now  taking  to  bestow  the  blessings 
of  education  on  the  same  plan  adopted  in  this  city,  on  the 
countless  multitudes  of  tlie  uneducated  youth  of  Ireland." 

SFotyn  llistitaton. 

John   Pinkerton,   the   critic  and   historian,  was 

1825. 

bom  at  Edinburgh  1758.     He  became  an  appren- 


382  HI8T0RT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

tice  to  Mr.  Aytoan,  Writer  to  the  Signet.  la  1783  he 
pabliflhed  his  <  Select  Scottish  BaUads,*  and  in  1786  hia 
^  Ancient  Scottish  Poems,'  and  in  1791  his  ^  Inqaiiy  into 
the  History  of  Scotland  preceding  the  reign  of  Malcolm 
in./  and  five  years  afterwards  his  ^History  of  Scotland 
daring  the  Reign  of  the  Stnarts/  He  also  edited  a  ^  Collec- 
tion of  Voyages  and  Travels '  in  19  vols.  He  died  10th 
March,  1825. 

George  Chalmers,  the  anthor  of  ^  Caledonia,' 
was  bom  in  Banffshire  1742.  He  studied  law  at 
Edinburgh  Unirersity,  and  afterwards  resided  many  years 
in  America.  He  wrote  a  ^  Life  of  Daniel  Defoe '  in  1790. 
His  edition  of  'Allan  Bamsay'  appeared  in  1800.  The 
Hrst  volume  of  his  '  Caledonia,'  a  work  of  great  research,  was 
published  in  1807.    He  died  31st  May,  1825. 

Considerable  discussion  had.  arisen  for  some  time  in  Edin- 
burgh,  regarding  the  erection  of  a  new  High  School — ^the 
old  one  at  the  foot  of  Infirmary  Street  being  deemed  too  far 
south;  another  on  the  north  side  of  the  town  was  proposed, 
and  at  last  the  Miller's  EInowe,  Calton  Hill,  was  fixed  on  as 
the  site,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Hamilton,  architect,  having  pro> 
duced  a  beautiftd  design; — a  public  procession  took  place  at 
the  laying  of  the  foundation^tone,  by  Lord  Glenorchy,  (the 
present  Marquis  of  Breadalbane)  on  28th  July,  1825.  The 
finest  part  of  the  procession  was  the  six  hundred  scholars 
attending  the  school,  in  their  holiday  dress,  each  with  a 
white  wand  in  his  hand.  A  public  dinner  took  place  at 
the  Waterloo  Hotel,  the  Lord  Provost,  Alexander  Hender- 
son, in  the  chair,  supported  by  the  Earl  of  Fife  and  Lord 
Abercromby.  Professor  Wilson  delivered  an  eloquent  speech 
on  the  occasion. 

In  the  autumn  of  1825,  the  unwonted  occurrence  of  a 


1826.  ANKAUS.  383 

keen  contest  for  the  civic  chair  took  place  between  two  re* 
spectable  individuals,  William  Trotter  of  Ballendean  and 
William  Allan  of  Glen.  The  former  was  elected  Lord 
Provost  4th  October  of  that  year. 

About  this  period,  the  Earl  of  Moray's  grounds  of  Dnun- 
shengh,  comprising  nearly  thirty  acres,  were  built  according 
to  a  beautiful  plan  by  Gillespie  Graham,  architect,  which 
added  much  to  the  splendour  of  the  Kew  town.  These  build- 
ings  extend  near  to  the  ravine  of  the  Water  of  Leith,  and 
include  Moray  Place,  probably  one  of  the  most  splendid 
places  in  Europe,  or  as  it  has  been  called,  the  place  of  palaces. 

Sir  Heniy  Raebum,  further  to  the  north,  proceeded 
to  lay  out  his  grounds  on  tlie  other  side  of  the  Water  of 
Leith,  in  a  series  of  handsome  streets.  It  happened  one 
day  when  Sir  David  Wilkie  and  lie  were  walking  together 
near  his  villa  of  St.  Bernard's — Wilkie  suggested  to  Raebuni 
that  he  should  build  on  each  side  of  tlie  double  row  of  elm 
trees,  to  which  he  pointed,  a  crescent  in  the  purest  style  of 
Grecian  architecture.  Kaebum  followed  the  advice  of  his 
brother  artist,  and  erected  St.  Bernard's  Crescent,  the  archi- 
tecture of  which  has  been  much  admired. 

A  public  dinner  to  Joseph  Hume,  M.P.,  took  place  in 
the  Waterloo  Hotel,  18th  November,  1825,  for  his  services 
in  Parliament,  Leonard  Homer  in  the  chair.  Upwards  of 
four  hundred  gentlemen  were  present. 

A  French  corvette,  L'Actif,  left  Leith  Beads  31st  October, 
1825 — ^the  first  French  ship-of-war  that  had  visited  the 
Firth  of  Forth  since  the  alaim  caused  by  Paul  Jones's  visit- 
in  1779. 

Snaiiam  Gfllrstite. 

William  Gillespie,  a  Scottish  poet  of  considerable 

talent,  was  bom  at  Kells  in  Galloway,  1776.     He 

attended  the  University  of  Edinburgh  in  1792,  was  licensed 

as  a  preacher  in  1801,  and  five  years  after  succeeded  his 


384  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

father  as  minister  of  Kells.  His  first  pablisked  poem  was 
^  The  Progress  of  Refinement.'  In  1813  Hogg  introduced 
him  as  the  sixth  bard  in  the  Queen's  Wake,  and  describes 
him  as: 

"  Gentle  his  fonn,  hia  mannen  meet. 
His  harp  was  soft,  his  Toice  was  sweet; 
He  son^  Loch  Ryan's  hapless  maid. 
In  bloom  of  yoQth,  bj  lore  betrayed." 

Gillespie's  '  Consolation,  and  other  Poems '  appeared  in 
1815.  He  wrote  an  interesting  account  of  Lowe,  the  author 
of  '  Mary's  Dream/  in  Cromek^s  Remains.  Gillespie  died 
1825. 

After  a  period  of  great  commercial  speculation 
there  generally  follows  a  correspondent  re-action.  At 
the  close  of  1825  and  the  commencement  of  the  succeeding 
year,  a  panic  preyailed,  and  on  17th  January,  1826,  a  great 
sensation  was  excited  in  Edinburgh,  by  the  announcement 
of  the  stoppage  of  the  extensiye  publishing  house  of  Archi- 
bald Constable  and  Co., — ^a  concern  which,  by  the  boldness 
of  its  undertakings,  had  giyen  a  new  impetus  to  Scottish 
literatture, — and  this  was  aggrayated  the  following  day,  by  a 
similar  catastrophe  with  James  Ballantyne  and  Company, 
Printers,  of  which,  though  not  known  till  then.  Sir  Walter 
Scott  was  a  partner.  These  eyents  created  great  sympathy 
towards  the  parties,  especially  Sir  Walter  Scott,  who  was 
much  beloyed  in  Edinburgh,  and  who,  now  inyolved  in  debts 
exceeding  a  hundred  thousand  pounds,  refused  the  most 
liberal  tenders  of  money  from  his  friends  or  settlement  by 
composition  with  his  creditors,  but  nobly  and  determinedly 
set  himself  to  the  task  of  working  out  of  his  own  brain  the 
complete  liquidation  of  these  heayy  responsibilities. 

Nothing  has  tended  more  to  pi^esenre  the  beauty  and  salu- 
brity of  the  city  than  the  fine  open  valley  between  the  Old 
and  New  town,  and  the  gardens  between  Queen  Street  and 


1825.  AKNALB.  385 

Heriot  Bow.  An  apprehenuon  had  arisen  of  an  intention  on 
the  part  of  the  Magistrates  to  build  on  the  first  mentioned 
of  these,  and  a  meeting  of  the  proprietors  of  the  New  town, 
was  in  consequence  held  26th  February,  1826,  at  which 
Henry  Cockbum  remarked  that  there  was  a  part  of  this 
city  which  they  wished  to  preserve  from  destruction.  It 
was  now  nearly  ten  years  since  it  was  proposed  to  build  a 
jail  in  front  of  Prince's  Street— ^tben  it  was  proposed  to  build 
a  church — after  that  a  theatre — ^next  we  were  with  great 
difficulty  saved  fix>m  an  extensive  yeomanry  stable^-and  not 
six  months  before,  we  were  threatened  with  a  new  High 
School  being  put  down  there.  He  would  now  ask,  have  the 
Magistrates  not  in  their  possession  at^  this  moment,  under 
lock  and  key,  a  plan  for  building  opposite  Princess  Street, 
east  of  the  Mound?  Last  year,  in  discussing  a  proposed  bill 
for  city  improvements,  he  asked,  was  the  clause  prohibiting 
building  there,  assented  to  at  onceT  No,  it  was  rugged  out  of 
them  as  if  it  had  been  their  heart's  blood.  He  believed  that 
the  fears  of  the  inhabitants  of  Edinburgh  would  never  be  at 
rest  until  they  had  a  statute  to  tliis  efiect.  The  meeting 
adopted  the  following  resolution:  ^'That  one  of  the  most 
striking  aspects  of  Edinburgh  is  that  which  is  exhibited  of 
the  Old  town  from  the  eastern  division  of  Prince's  Street, 
and  that  the  filling  up  of  the  valley,  or  the  erection  of  build- 
ings between  the  Old  and  Kew  town,  would  be  destructive 
of  the  beauty  of  this  quarter  of  the  city." 

The  western  Prince's  Street  gardens  were  formed  some 
years  before,  and  added  greatly  to  the  beauty  of  the  town. 

Another  striking  feature  of  the  vicinity  of  Edinburgh  was 
at  this  time  threatened  with  destruction.  The  bold  pro- 
montory of  Salisbury  Crags  was  actually  invaded  by  the 
pickaxe  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  stones  to  causeway  the 
streets  of  the  city.  This  proceeding— one  worthy  of  the 
days  of  the  Goths  and  Vandals^-met  with  merited  obloquy, 
and,  after  a  good  deal  of  public  remonstrance,  was  also 

staid.     It  was  alleged  that  this  result  was  finally  accom- 

2  B 


386  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

pliflhed  throagh  the  interpottdon,  as  a  matter  of  taste,  of 
George  IV- 

A  meetiDg  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  in  the  Waterloo 
Booms,  3d  March,  1826,  to  express  their  opinion  on  the 
proposed  measnres  of  the  goremment  respecting  the  Scottish 
banks,  and  the  suppressing  the  circulation  of  one  pound 
notes  in  Scotland.  The  public  opinion  had  been  strongly 
in  favour  of  the  existing  system.  Edinburgh  and  Scotland 
having  flourished  under  it,  the  proposed  innovations  were 
deemed  dangerous  to  Scottish  trade,  and  the  meeting  adopted 
petitions  to  both  bouses  of  parliament  deprecating  the  in- 
tended changes.  The  meeting  was  unanimous  on  the  sub- 
ject except  one  respectable  individual,  a  retired  goldsmith, 
who  preferred  the  circulation  of  sovereigns  to  the  paper 
currency.  Sir  Walter  Scott  attended  the  meeting,  and  it 
was  remarked  by  one  speaker  that  his  letters  of  Sir  Malachi 
Malagrowther,  which  had  recently  appeared,  entitled  him  to 
the  gratitude  of  bis  country — that  these  letters  had  been  like 
the  fiery  cross  flying  through  the  glens  and  mountains,  to 
rou^e  the  dormant  spirit  of  Scotland.  These  measures  were 
soon  after  stopped. 

In  1826,  the  number  of  students  attending  the  College 
amounted  to  upwards  of  2,200;  for  some  years  the  attend- 
ance had  been  gradually  on  the  increase,  and  the  medical 
school  and  literary  classes  continued  to  uphold  the  high  name 
of  the  university  of  Edinburgh. 

Jfol^it  itas* 

John  Kay,  the  Edinburgh  caricaturist,  was  bom 
near  Dalkeith  in  1742.  He  became  a  practising 
member  of  the  Society  of  Surgeon-barbers  in  Edinburgh  in 
1771.  In  the  days  of  yore  in  Auld  Reekie,  the  profe»ions 
of  surgeon  and  barber  were  combined,  and  the  principal  oc- 
cupation of  a  barber  was  not  merely  in  shaving  the  faces, 
but  also  in  improving  the  heads  of  his  customers,  by  dressing 


ISSe.  AKNAUB.  387 

their  wigs,  then  an  important  part  of  the  outer  garb  of  a 
•K>lite  and  spmce  citizen.  Kay  commenoed  his  portrait 
jtchini^  in  1784,  and  though  known  by  the  name  of  cari- 
>*atures,  they  were  generally  the  best  likenesses  extant  of  the 
most  celebrated  characters  and  dtizens  in  Edinburgh.  He 
had  a  small  prin1>4hop  in  the  Parliament  Square,  which  was 
consumed  by  the  great  fire  in  1824.  Many  a  gazer  used  to 
be  amused  at  his  window  there.    Kay  died  in  1826.* 

For  a  long  series  of  years  the  Dundas  interest  had  reigned 
paramount  in  municipal  and  political  afiairs  in  the  capital  of 
Scotland,  and  when  on  31st  May,  1826,  the  Lord  Provost  of 
the  day,  Trotter,  was  waited  upon  by  a  deputation  of  the 
Trades,  requesting  him  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  city  in  Parliament,  it  was  deemed  a  heinous 
offence  against  the  Melville  interest  that  he  required  time  even 
to  deliberate  on  such  a  proposition.  He  held  a  meeting  with 
his  brother  magistrates  on  the  subject,  on  2d  June,  and 
stated  that  he  did  not  feel  himself  firee  to  accept  the  i*epre> 
sentation  of  the  city,  he  having  somewhat  committed  himself 
with  Mr.  William  Dundas,  the  then  member.  Had  the 
proposition  been  made  earlier,  the  Lord  Provost  would  have 
carried  the  membership.  On  12th  June  the  town  council 
met  and  elected  the  right  Hon.  William  Dundas,  Lord 
Register,  as  member  for  the  city  for  the  seventh  time,  wlien 
he  delivered  an  ornate  speech.  In  the  evening  his  Lord&liip 
entertained  a  party  of  about  one  hundred  gentlemen  to 
dinner  at  the  British  hotel  in  the  most  splendid  style.  This, 
in  those  easy  days  of  elections,  constituted  the  only  pecuniary 
expense  to  a  parliamentary  candidate  in  Edinburgh,  as  the 
voters  were  only  thirty-three,  and  there  were  no  hustings  to 
erect,  and   in   canvassing  for  votes  no  wide  field  to  per- 


*  Hugh  Pftton  {mUished  a  tait  amnsiDg  book,  a  teries  of  his  Ori^nal 
Portraits  and  earicatare  etchings,  with  illustratiTe  anecdotes. — Edin- 
bargh,  1S37. 


388  mSTORT  OF  EDmBURGH. 

ambulate^  nor  the  trouble  to  encoonter  of  dividing  the  city 
into  district  committees. 

Mr.  Abercromby,  in  the  Honae  of  Commons^  on  13th 
Aprily  1826,  again  moved  for  leave  to  bring  in  a  bill  to 
amend  the  representation  of  the  City  in-  pariiament.  He 
admitted,  and  rejoiced  at  it,  that  the  city  had  proepered 
under  the  existing  system,  but  that  was  not  because  of  the 
system,  but  in  spite  of  it.  He  presented  a  petition  from  the 
inhabitant  householders  for  an  extension  of  the  franchise, 
signed  by  seven  thousand  two  hundred  and  forty-two  in- 
dividuals. After  a  debate  the  House  divided,  97  for  the 
motion,  122  against  it;  majority  25. 

A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  in  the  Assembly 
Booms,  George  Street,  17th  May,  1826,  for  the  purpose  of 
commencing  and  recommending  a  subscription  in  aid  of  the 
working  classes  in  the  manufacturing  districts  of  Scotland, 
who  had  been  suffering  severely,  and  though  thrown  out  of 
work,  had  conducted  themselves  very  peaceably  under  those 
trying  circumstances.    A  large  simi  was  subscribed. 

On  15th  August,  1826,  a  procession  took  place  on  driving 
the  first  pile  for  the  extension  of  Leith  pier — which  act 
was  performed  by  the  Lord  Provost  of  Edinburgh.  His 
lordship  remarked,  that  it  was  now  fully  one  hundred  years 
since  a  stone  pier  was  erected  for  the  harbour  of  Leith.  In 
1777  the  Western  or  Custom  House  quay  had  been  built, 
forming  a  harbour  in  which  one  hundred  ships  might  be 
conveniently  in  port.  This  was  found  too  small,  and  about 
twenty-five  years  since,  new  docks  upon  approved  principles 
were  constmcted;  and  now  these  were  found  inadequate  to 
the  trade,  so  that  this  new  or  extended  eastern  pier,  in  con- 
junction with  a  western  one,  had  become  necessary. 

Br*  JFoJ^n  Sardas* 

Dr.  John  Barclay,  distinxraished  in  Edinburgh  as  an 
anatomical  and  medical  lectureri  was  bom  in  Perth- 


1836.  AKNAIA  389 

sliire  1760.  From  theology  he  turned  to  the  study  of  medi- 
cine,  and  got  his  degree  at  Edinburgh  1796.  He  wrote  the 
article  Physiology  in  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica.  He  de- 
livered a  course  of  anatomical  lectores,  and  was  the  author 
of  several  works  on  Anatomy,  also  a  volume  on  '  Life  and 
ion.'    He  died  2l8t  August,  1826. 


C3on8iderable  excitement  was  created  among  the  citizens 
this  year,  by  tlie  unusual  occurrence  of  a  contest  for  the 
mastership  of  the  Merchant  CSompany.  The  late  Lord 
Provost,  Alexander  Henderson,  an  individual  much  re- 
spected in  the  city,  was  started  as  a  candidate,  in  opposition 
to  Bobert  Scott,  and  afiter  a  veiy  keen  contest,  was  elected, 
4th  September,  1826,  by  148  votes,  against  186  for  his 
opponent.  Such  a  numerous  meeting  of  the  Merchant 
Company  had  never  before  occurred. 

The  Lord  Provost,  Magistrates,  and  Council,  gave  a 
splendid  entertainment  to  Lord  Viscount  Melville  on  8th 
September,  1826,  in  the  Boyal  HoteL  The  company 
amounted  to  upwards  of  one  hundred  persons. 

SIrxatitier  GotOoti  latng. 

Alexander  Gordon  Laing,  the  African  traveller 

1826.  ' 

was  bom  in  Edinburgh  27  th  December,  1793.  His 
father  had  a  classical  academy  in  the  New  town,  in  which, 
after  studying  at  the  University,  young  Laing  became  a  part- 
ner. In  1801  he  went  to  Barbadoes,  and  aiiterwards  served 
as  a  military  o£Bcer  in  various  parts  of  the  West  Indies. 
In  1822  he  was  despatched  from  Sierra  Leone  in  Africa,  on 
an  embassy  to  Kambea  and  the  Mandingo  country.  After 
various  travels  in  Africa,  he  was  promoted  to  a  majority  in 
1825,  and  left  London  for  Tripoli,  where  he  married  Miss 
Emma  Warrington,  the  British  Consul's  daughter,  and  set 
off  again  on  his  travels  to  Tombuctoo,  and  near  there  was 
cruelly  murdered  by  some  Arabs,  September,  1826. 


390  mSTORT  OF  U>lXCUBOH. 

A  large  dinner  putj  took  place  at  the  Waterioo  Hotel,  at 
the  annual  election  of  the  magistrates  on  3d  October,  1826, 
^-one  handled  and  siz^  gentlemen  present, — the  Lord 
ProTosty  Trotter,  in  the  chair,  supported  by  the  Earl  of 
Aberdeen,  the  Earl  of  Soaebery,  Lord  Naime,  and  Lord 
Binning.  The  civic  feast,  at  one  time  annnal,  had  now 
become  biennial,  and  was  rapidly  fidling  into  desaetode. 

In  the  same  year,  1826,  an  act  of  Parliament  was  passed, 
which  transferred  the  management  of  the  Harbour  and 
Docks  of  Leith,  to  a  body  composed  of  varioos  Edinburgh  and 
Leith  officials,  and  gentlemen  to  be  chosen  as  Leith  Dock 
Commissioners.  The  act  did  not  work  so  well  as  was 
anticipated,  and  in  the  course  of  the  year  unfortunately  the 
most  extreme  irritation  arose  between  the  Edinburgh  Town 
Council  and  the  Leith  Magistrates — the  latter  being  chosen 
by  the  former  body.  The  feet  of  Leith  being  a  depen- 
dency, or  in  a  state  of  municipal  rassalage,  probably 
sufficiently  accounts  for  these  disputes  and  misunder- 
standings— ^the  most  of  them  of  too  petty  a  nature  to  be 
worthy  of  detail.  The  ultimate  entire  separation  of  the 
municipal  government  of  the  two  towns  was  the  obvious 
remedy,  and  that  was  not  long  of  being  accomplished  in  a 
way  quite  satisfectory  to  all  parties.  The  general  interests 
of  the  two  towns  are  obviously  in  unison. 

CRflDiam  Iftnox* 

William  Knox,  a  Scottish  poet  of  considerable 

1826. 

taste,  was  bom  at  Firth,  Roxburghshire,  1789.  He 
became  a  fermer  at  Ural  near  Langholm,  in  the  same 
county.  One  of  his  finest  poems,  ^  The  Lonely  Hearth,' 
was  published  in  1818.  From  1820  to  the  period  of  his 
death,  he  resided  chiefly  in  Edinburgh.  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
as  will  be  seen  from  Lockhart's  Life,  took  a  kindly  interest 
in  his  welfere.  His  ^  Songs  of  Israel '  were  published  in 
1824,  and  his  ^  Harp  of  Zion '  the  subsequent  year.    He 


1627  ANNALS.  891 

was  also  the  author  of  several  prose  tales.     He  died  at  Ed- 
inborgh  in  1826. 

The  Highland  Club  of  Scotland  held  their  annual 
competition  for  athletic  exercises,  5th  January,  1827, 
in  Warrender's  Park  at  the  head  of  Bumtsfield  Links,  in  pre- 
sence of  a  committee  of  judges  and  a  great  assemblage  of 
people.  The  Liord  Provost  and  Lord  Glenorchy  (now 
Marquis  of  Breadalbane),  and  a  number  of  distinguished  in- 
dividuals connected  with  the  Highlands,  were  present.  The 
band  of  the  7th  Hussars  and  two  Highland  pipers  attended. 
These  exercises  were  all  of  a  hardy  and  healthy  description. 
On  9th  Januaxy,  1827,  a  criminal  jury  trial  took  place 
before  the  Lord  Provost  and  magistrates,  assisted  by  one  of 
their  legal  assessors.  This  was  the. only  criminal  jaiy  case 
that  had  thus  come  before  them  since  the  commencement  of 
the  centuxy. 

|lrobo0t  ftniBenott 

The  previous  Lord  Provost — ^A4exander  Hender- 
son, Esq.  of  Press — died  5th  February,  1827.  Since 
the  time  of  Provost  Drummond,  probably  no  chief  magistrate 
in  Edinburgh  had  been  more  popular  than  this  individual, 
arising  from  his  conciliatory  disposition,  his  good  common 
sense,  and  thorough  independence.  His  history  is  useful 
as  an  example.  He  came  to  Edinburgh,  a  boy  from 
Peebles-shire— engaged  first  as  an  apprentice  and  then 
master  with  a  seed  merchant,  and  by  his  honourable  conduct 
and  industry,  was  the  architect  of  his  own  fortune,  and 
raised  himself  to  be  chief  Magistrate,  and  master  of  the 
Merchant  Company,  and  warmly  promoted  all  the  improve- 
ments of  the  city. 

A  public  dinner  took  place  in  the  Assembly  Rooms,  George 
Street,  21st  February,  1827,  attended  by  upwards  of  three 


392  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

hundred  gentieineDy  in  aid  of  the  Theatrical  Fond,  a  chari- 
table endowment  for  decayed  actors, — Sir  Walter  Scott 
in  the  chair;  and  the  occasion  was  rendered  interesting  bj  it 
being  the  first  avowal  of  his  authorship  of  the  Waveiley 
Novels.  This  excited  great  interest.  He  remarked  that  the 
secret  had  been  well  kept,  and  that  it  was  certainly  extra- 
ordinary  that  it  had  been,  for  so  many  years,  and  that, 
had  it  been  sent  to  a  jury  of  his  countrymen,  but  for  his  own 
confession  it  mnst  have  ended  in  a  verdict  of  not  proven. 
The  Waverley  Novels  didnnot  contain  a  word  which  was  not 
written  by  himself,  a  few  quotations  excepted. 

A  considerable  sensation  was  excited  in  Edinburgh  on 
10th  April,  1827,  when  intelligence  arrived  that  Mr.  Can- 
ning was  appointed  prime  minister  of  Great  Britain,  and 
that  Viscount  Melville  had  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Cabinet 
and  his  office,  as  first  Lord  of  the  Admiralty.  From  the 
political  connexion  which  had  so  long  existed  between  the 
city  of  Edinburgh  and  the  Dundas  family,  this  latter  event 
was  of  deep  interest  to  the  old  school  of  politicians  there, 
many  of  whom  had  adopted  the  idea  that  the  capital  of 
Scotland  required  to  be  represented  by  a  party  connected 
with  the  government;  and  the  retirement  of  Lord  Melville 
and  consequent  diminution  of  influence  on  the  part  of  the 
city  member  William  Dundas,  Lord  Register,  seemed  like 
the  breaking  up  or  death-knell  of  all  their  old  associations. 
As  a  specimen,  of  the  pasquinades  on  the  occasion — ^the  fol- 
lowing appeared  in  the  London  Times: 

**  What  fiend,  my  Lord,  in  Eldon's  shape, 
Enticed  yon  into  such  a  aciape? 
VHiat  has  a  shrewd  old  Scot  like  yon 
With  SQch  an  idle  brawl  to  do? 
How  wonld  your  conning  fsther  stare 
To  see  sooh  madness  in  his  heir! 
For  shame  t  renounce  such  strange  grimace, 
Think  on  the  real  delights  of  place, 
To  role  each  trade  and  each  profession, 
Each  Dean  of  Ghiild,  and  Lord  of  Session, 


1827.  AKNAL8.  893 

To  fill  the  maws  «Dd  clothe  the  beoks 

Of  fifteen  hundred  fawning  Meet; 

To  pension  all  the  lads  and  lasses 

Of  Hays  and  Drommonds  and  Dondasses, 

And  deal  commissions  round  by  dosens 

Throagh  high-cheeked  lOws  of  twentieth  oonilns. 

An  annual  event  that  was  wont  to  interest  the  citizens, 
was  the  competition  of  Highland  Pipers.  It  was  origin- 
ally instituted  by  the  Highland  Society  of  L<mdon  about 
half  a  century  before  this  period;  it  was  now  arranged  that  it 
should  take  place  only  once  in  two  or  three  years.  It  tended 
to  presei've  the  ancient  national  aud  warlike  music  of  Scot^ 
land,  though  the  effect  was  generally  severe  on  the  ears  of 
the  enamoured  listeners. 

For  several  years  much  local  discussion  had  occxured  in 
the  metropolis  of  Scotland,  regarding  certain  proposed  im- 
provements, which  included  a  western  road  or  approach  to 
the  city  by  the  south  side  of  the  castle,  and  a  new  bridge 
southward  from  tlie  head  of  Bank  Street  towards  Bristo  and 
the  Chaiity  work-house.  An  act  to  this  effect  was  passed 
in  June  1827. 

Archibald  Constable,  the  eminent  Edinburgh 
bookseller  and  publisher,  was  bom  at  Kellie  in  Fife, 
24th  February  1776.  He  served  his  apprenticeship  with 
Peter  Hill,  one  of  Bums'  friends  and  correspondents.  He 
commenced  business  in  tlie  High  Street  near  the  Cross  in 
1795.  Here  he  formed  numerous  literary  connections,  and 
in  1802  became  publisher  of  tlie  Edinburgh  Beview.  Sir 
Walter  Scott's  poems  all  appeared  with  his  imprimaturj  and 
subsequently  the  Waverley  Novels,  and  the  Encylopsedia 
Britannica.  He  was  not  a  man  of  much  book-learning  or 
literature,  but  of  large  and  enterprising  ideas.  He  ventured 
to  give  unprecedentedly  large  sums  for  copjTights,  and  cairied 


394  mSTORT  OF  edinbihu^h. 

on  boainess  on  a  most  eztenave  scale.  He  lived  expensively, 
and  was  sometimes  despodcal  in  his  ideas,  Lockbart 
narrates  several  amosing  stories  regarding  him  in  bis  Life  of 
Sir  Walter  Scott,  and  states  that  he  went  by  the  name  of 
the  ^^  Czar  of  Moscovy,''  He  had  the  perspicuity  in  1825, 
to  lay  hold  of  the  idea  of  cheap  literatore — and  devised 
ConatabU'a  Miscellanyy  one  of  the  first  series  of  moderate 
priced  volumes.  But  commercial  misfortunes  overtook  him 
in  January  1826,  and  he  died  in  Edinbur^  21st  July,  1827. 

Between  the  years  1790  and  1827  the  population  of  Edin- 
burgh had  doubled.  Apart  from  Leith,  it  was  then  60,000, 
now  120,000. 

On  15th  August  the  foundation  stone  of  the  two 
bridges,  George  lY.'s  bridge  and  the  Western  approach, 
was  laid  by  the  Lord  Provost.  There  was  a  great 
procession  on  the  occasion,  and  in  the  evening  a  public 
dinner  at  the  Waterloo  Hotel  attended  by  upwards  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  gentlemen,  the  chief  magistrate  presiding. 
Lord  Forbes,  the  representative  of  .his  Majesty  at  the  General 
Assembly,  said  he  would  always  feel  interested  in  the  pros- 
perity of  Edinburgh,  and  he  trusted  that  under  the  blessing 
of  Providence,  without  which,  as  their  city  motto  expressed, 
^  the  builder  would  build  in  vain,'  the  improvements  which 
had  this  day  begun,  would  not  only  prove  highly  ornamental, 
but  greatly  conducive  to  the  comfort  and  prosperity  of  the 
city.  Duncan  Matheson,  Esq.  Advocate,  Sheriff  of  Leith, 
alluded  to  the  incorporated  trades,  and  remarked  that  they 
boasted  of  great  antiquity,  having  actually  taken  a  part  in 
the  Crusades.  They  had  in  their  possession  the  identical 
Blue  Blanket  which  was  their  flag  at  that  time,  and  they 
could  not  look  on  that  banner  while  a  shred  of  it  stuck  to- 
gether, without  viewing  it  as  a  pledge  of  what  they  would 
achieve  in  times  of  danger. 

In  August,-  1827,  the  only  reUc  of  the  old  CoDege 
was  pulled  down.    It  consisted  of  a  little  square  tower 


1827.  ANNAL&  895 

at  the  north-west  angle,  which  was  used  as  an  observa* 
tOTj  by  the  distingoished  Maclaarin.  The  date  of  its  erec- 
tion was  1617)  as  indicated  bv  the  inscription  beneath  the 
City  arms  on  a  carved  stone  slab  in  the  wall,  *^  Senatas 
popnlnsqne  Edinborgenses  has  ssdes  Christo  et  mosis  ex- 
tmendas  coraront,  Anno  Dom.  kdcxvii.'' 

Sir  Htmji  itLontttitt  OftelttDOoD* 

Sir  Henry  Moncreiff  TVellwood,  Baronet,  D.D., 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  and  venerable 
leaders  of  the  Chui*ch  of  Scotland,  was  bom  in  Perthshire, 
6th  February,  1750.  Seventeen  years  after,  he  was  enrolled 
as  a  divinity  student  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Speculative  Society  there*  He  became 
minister  of  Blackford,  a  parish  of  which  both  his  father  and 
grandfather  had  been  clergymen.  In  1775  he  was  appointed 
to  St.  Cuthbert*s  church,  Edinburgh;  five  and  ten  years 
after  he  was  moderator  of  the  General  Assembly.  In  1818 
he  brought  out  an  excellent  life  of  his  friend  Dr.  Erskine,  a 
volume  fiill  of  valuable  Scottish  historical  information.  He 
was  one  of  the  well  known  citizens  and  characters  of  Edin- 
burgh. Along  with  a  certain  imperious  air  and  manner, 
he  united  piety  and  humility.  As  an  illustration  of  his 
determined  mode  of  expressing  himself  even  in  conversa- 
tion, we  may  mention,  that  on  one  occasion,  when  speaking 
to. his  friend.  Dr.  Andrew  Thomson,  against  the  system 
of  Gall  and  Spnrzheim,  Thomson  was  about  to  remonstrate 
with  him,  and  said,  "But  you  must  know.  Sir  Harry.'* 
"  No,  Sir,**  interrupted  the  baronet, "  I  neither  knowy  nor 
do  I  wish  to  know^  any  more  upon  the  subject."  This 
manner  was  even  once  displayed  at  the  procession  of 
the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Assembly  at  a  time  when 
thore  was  a  dispute  of  precedence  of  rank  between  D.D.'s 
and  Esquires.  A  little  squire,  whom  the  massive-looking  Sir 
Henry  was  preceding,  enquired  by  what  right  he  assumed 


396  msTORT  OP  Edinburgh. 

that  place^  ^  By  the  right  of  thomby"  said  the  baronet,  half 
jocularly,  raismg  his  sturdy  arm.  He  died  at  Bumtsfield 
Links,  Edinburgli,  9th  August,  1827.  The  Bev.  Sir  Henry 
Moncreiff  Wellwood,  and  James  Moncreiff,  at  present  Lord 
Advocate  and  M.  P.  for  Leith,  are  his  grandsons. 

Robert  PoUok,  A.M.,  author  of  <The  Couise  of 

J  827 

Time,'  was  bom  in  1799.  He  was  licensed  as  a 
preacher  by  the  United  Associate  Presbytery  of  Edinburgh 
in  1827,  and  the  same  year  his  celebrated  poem^  ^The 
Course  of  Time,'  was  published  in  Edinburgh.  It  became 
very  popular,  passed  rapidly  through  many  editions,  and  is  a 
work  of  genius.    He  died  of  a  decline  in  England  in  1827. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Highland  Club 
held  in  the  British  Hotel,  Edinburgh,  4th  January, 


1828,  Lord  Qlenorchy,  (now  Marquis  of  Breadalblme) 
marked  that  he  thought  the  people  had  fallen  too  much  into 
disuse  of  the  out-door  national  games  of  Scotland,  which 
were  healthful  in  themselves,  and  tending  greatly  to  the 
development  of  the  moral  disposition  -of  the  inhabitants.  It 
should  be  a  primary  object  with  the  Society  to  prevent  en- 
croachments on  public  pieces  of  ground,  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  towns,  which  Magistrates  were  so  much  inclined  to, 
in  their  inordinate  desire  to  accumulate  wealth. 

To  indicate  the  pecuniary  support  given  to  the  charitable 
institutions  in  Edinburgh  at  this  period,  in  February,  1828, 
when  there  was  a  collection  made  at  the  different  churches 
and  chapels  of  the  city,  in  aid  of  the  Royal  Infirmary  and 
Fever  Hospital, — ^the  amount  was  upwards^  of  £1,000. 

A  numerous  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  in  the 
Assembly  Booms,  George  Street,  17th  March,  1828,  to  con- 
sider the  propriety  of  petitioning  Parliament  in  favour  of 
the  Repeal  of  the  Test  and  Corporation  Acts, — Sir  John 


Ifm.  AKNAL&  397 

Dalrymple  (afterwards  Earl  of  Stair)  in  the  chair.  The 
principal  speakers  were  Sir  James  W.  Moncreiff,  Dean  of 
Facultj;  Dr.  Thomas  M^Crie^  the  biographer  of  Knox;  and 
Francis  Jeffrey.  The  meeting  was  tinanimoos  in  favour  of 
the  petitions  for  this  great  step  in  the  caose  of  civil  and  reli- 
gious liberty. 

Dugald  Stewart  was  bom  in  the  University  of 
Edinburgh,  22d  November,  1753.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  the  High  School.  He  taught  his  father's  mathe- 
matical classes  in  the  Universitv  when  he  was  only  nineteen 
years  of  age,  and  when  he  attained  majority,  was  appointed 
his  assistant  and  successor.  In  1778,  he  taught  the  Moral 
Philosophy  class,  during  Dr.  Adam  Ferguson's  absence  in 
America,  and  in  1785  he  was  transferred  to  that  cliair. 
His  first  volume  of  the  '  Philosophy  of  the  Human  Mind,' 
appeared  in  1792,  his  'Life  of  Principal  Robertson'  in 
1796;  at  this  period  he  received  a  few  pupils  and  boarders 
into  his  house;  among  these  were  the  present  Lord  Pal- 
merston  and  the  late  Lord  Dudley.  His  Preliminary  Dis- 
sertation to  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  on  the  Progress 
of  Metaphysical  and  Ethical  Philosophy,  is  one  of  the  most 
valuable  of  his  productions.  As  a  writer,  fluency  and  ele- 
gance characterize  his  style.  Dr.  Thomas  Brown  having 
been  appointed  his  successor,  he  retired  from  his  profes- 
sorial duties  in  1810,  and  resided  for  many  years  at  Elinneil 
House  in  Linlithgowshire.  He  died  in  Edinburgh  11th 
June,  1828. 

The  old  spire  of  the  Tron  church  having  been  destroyed 
by  fire  in  1824,  as  already  narrated,  a  handsome  new  stone 
spire  was  built  to  the  church,  and  completed  in  October, 
1828. 

A  trial  of  an  extraordinary  and  unprecedented  nature 


398  HISTORY  OP  EDINBUitaH. 

occurred  before  the  High  Court  of  Justiciary,  24th  Decem- 
ber, 1828,  that  of  William  Burke,  an  Irishman,  for  commit- 
ting a  series  of  the  most  cold  and  deliberate  murders  at  his 
house,  in  the  West  Port,  where  he  got  parties  entrapped, 
and  actually  murdered  them,  to  sell  their  bodies  for  ana- 
tomical purposes.  The  production  of  the  evidence  in  this 
horrid  case  was  appalling  to  the  court  and  audience,  and 
altogether,  it  made  a  very  deep  and  painful  impression  in 
Edinburgh.  This  man's  name  led  to  the  embodying  of  a 
new  word  in  the  language,  Burking.  The  criminal  was 
executed  the  following  month. 

Dr.  Andrew  Duncan  was  born  in  1774.      He 

ld28« 

Studied  at  St.  Andrews  and  Edinburgh  University. 
In  1775  he  conmienced  lectures  on  the  Theory  of  Medicine 
in  Edinburgh.  In  1766,  through  his  exertions,  the  public 
dispensary  in  Richmond  Street  was  founded.  •  In  1790  he 
was  elected  President  of  the  College  of  Physicians,  and  ap- 
pointed Professor  of  the  Institutions  of  Medicine.  During 
the  last  decade  of  the  century,  he  proposed  a  plan  for  a 
Lunatic  Asylum,  and  the  building  was  erected  at  Morning- 
side,  near  Edinburgh,  in  1807.  He  was  also  the  projector 
of  the  Horticultural  Society  and  Experimental  Gardens. 
The  genial  old  man  made  an  excursion  to  the  top  of  Ar- 
thur's Seat  annually  on  the  morning  of  every  first  of  May 
— and  in  that  neighbourhood,  at  St.  Leonards,  many  will 
recollect  a  garden  he  had  with  the  words,  ^^  Hinc  Sanitas  " 
inscribed  on  a  zinc  plate  at  the  gate.     He  died  in  1828. 

A   public  meeting  was  held  in   the    Waterloo 

1829. 

Booms,  the  Lord  Provost  in  the  chair,  6th  January, 
1829,  to  establish  Infant  Schools  in  Edinburgh, — the  object 
being  to  teach  the  young  in  their  earliest  years  before  they 
got  contaminated.     The   Chief  Magistrate  stated  to  the 


18S9.  AKKAU.  399 

meeting  a  orcamstance  which  had  deeply  ixnpressed  him 
with  a  conviction  of  the  necessity  of  erecting  these  schools. 
He  had  lately  met  two  criminal  officers  in  the  city,  each 
having  charge  of  a  wretched^looking  child.  He  found  th^ 
had  been  sent  from  the  Police  Office  to  be  examined  before 
the  Magistrates  on  a  charge  of  shop-breaking.  He  con* 
sidered  that  something  must  speedily  be  done  to  prevent  the 
rapid  spread  of  wickedness  and  crime  among  children^  espe- 
cially in  large  cities. 

The  venerable  piece  of  ordnance,  known  by  the  name  of 
Mons  Meg,  had  been  tranferred  from  the  Castle  of  Edin- 
burgh to  the  Tower  of  London,  24th  April,  1754,  where  she 
long  lay  neglected,  till  restored  to  her  ancient  domicile,  9th 
March,  1829,  being  escorted  from  Leith  by  a  paity  of  dra- 
goons and  artillery. 

A  large  and  influential  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  took 
place  in  the  Assembly  Kooms,  George  Street,  14th  March, 
1829,  for  the  purpose  of  supporting  the  Bill  then  before 
ParUament,  for  granting  Catholic  Emancipation,  Sir  Wil- 
liam Arbuthnot  in  the  chair.  The  principal  speakers  were 
Dr.  Chalmers,  Moncreiff,  Jefirey,  and  Cockbum.  Dr. 
Chalmers  concluded  his  splendid  speech  on  this  occasion,  by 
saying:  ^^  Yield  the  Catholic  claims  and  give  me  the  circu- 
lation of  the  Bible,  and  with  this  mighty  engine  I  will  over- 
throw the  tyranny  of  Antichrist,  and  establish  the  fair  and 
original  form  of  Christianity  on  its  ruins.'* — The  Bill  ob- 
tained the  "Royal  assent,  13th  April,  1829. 

The  ancient  barony  of  Broughton  was  situated  on  the 
north-eastern  part  of  Edinburgh.  In  June  1829,  a  building 
was  taken  down,  which  formed  the  Court  Room  and  Tol- 
booth  of  this  barony.  In  the  remains  of  the  building  were 
found  some  of  those  ancient  implements,  called  the  Stocks. 

The  New  High  School  on  the  Calton  Hill  was  opened 
with  a  public  procession,  23d  June,  1829.  The  building  is 
splendid,  and  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  about  £30,000.  Prin- 
cipal Baird  gave  an  appropriate  prayei*,  and  the  Lord  Provost, 


400  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

Brown,  made  a  few  observations  with  a  succinct  history  of 
the  School. — ^The  Magistrates  originally,  aboat  the  middle  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  paid  the  rent  of  a  house  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  the  school  in  Blackfriars  Wjnd.  In  1578 
they  built  a  school-house  for  it  in  the  church-yard  of  the 
Blackfriars  Convent,  and  it  was  twice  rebuilt  near  the  same 
site, — ^in  1658  and  1780.  It  was  remarked  on  this  occasion, 
that  the  building  of  the  Old  High  School  was  creditable  at 
its  time,  when  Edinburgh  was  no  more  than  ^'  Auld  Beekie  ** 
—the  situation  was  then  central, — the  other  public  buildings 
were  mean  and  meagre — the  adjoining  University  was  a 
hovel; — but  now  when  "  our  own  romantic  town  ^  flings  her 
white  arms  to  the  sea,  now  when  she  has  become  a  city  of 
palaces,  it  was  meet  that  the  seats  of  learning  should  be  fore- 
most in  the  number,  and  the  architectural  genius  of  Mr. 
Thomas  Hamilton  thus  secured  for  it  a  dwelling  worthy  of 
the  spot. 

Ife  had  long  been  proposed  to  improve  and  somewhat 
modernise  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Giles,  which  now  comprised 
under  its  roof  four  Presbyterian  parish  churches.  These 
repairs  and  alterations  commenced  in  1829,  and  the  renova- 
tion was  gradually  accomplished  with  considerable  taste,  and 
at  this  time  the  Magistrates  were  led  to  adopt  a  very  beau- 
tiful plan  of  a  new  church,  with  a  spire  or  tower  like  that  of 
Antwerp  Cathedral,  and  proposed  to  be  built  higher  up  in 
the  Lawnmarket  where  the  Victoria  Hall  now  stands.  A 
public  procession  took  place,  and  the  foundation-stone  was 
laid  by  the  Lord  Provost,  Brown,  29th  September,  1829, 
and  the  name  given  to  it  "  John  Knox's  Church,**  The 
proposed  structure,  however,  was  never  actually  reared. 

It  happened  in  1829,  that  another  keen  contest  for  the 
civic  chair  arose  between  the  two  same  individuals  who  had 
been  rival  candidates  for  it  four  years  before — ^William 
Trotter  of  Ballendean  and  William  Allan  of  Glen.  This 
time  the  tide  of  success  was  reversed,  and  Allan  was  elected 
Lord  Provost.    At  the  election  dinner  5th  October,  1829, 


1830.  AimAL&  401 

a  carious  scene  occurred  in  the  evemngy  by  a  celebrated  hn* 
morons  barrister,  afterwards  a  jndge,  getting  up  and  stat- 
ing with  mock  graTitjr  that  he  wbb  the  murderer  of  Begbie. 
The  Chief  Magistrate  at  first  was  almost  nonplussed  bj  such 
a  startling  announcement,  but  it  was  speedily  seen  to  be  a 
joke,  probably  the  result  of  some  wager. 

The  foundation-stone  of  the  Infant  School  was  laid  in  the 
Vennel,  15th  October,  1829,  by  the  Lord  Provost,  Allan. 
The  site  and  building  of  this  useful  institution  cost  about 
£1,000. 

9abO  WxtAiw,  SatI  of  Stttfiati. 

David  Erskine,  Earl  of  Buchiui,  the  elder  brother 
of  two  distinguished  men,  tlie  Hon.  Henry  Ei^skine, 
and  Thomas  Lord  Erskine,  was  himself  a  noted  Edinburgh 
character,  not  for  talent  or  wit,  but  for  a  sort  of  restless 
literary  pedantn-.  He  was  bom  in  1742.  He  had  the  merit 
of  founding  the  Edinburgh  Society  of  Antiquaries,  the  first 
meeting  of  which  took  place  in  his  house,  St.  Andrews 
Square,  14th  November,  1780.  He  was  a  contributor  to 
several  of  the  magazines  and  periodicals.  After  a  long  resi- 
dence in  the  capital  of  Scotland,  lie  retired  to  his  seat  of 
Dryburgh  Abbey.     He  died  in  1829. 

A  meeting  of  lionseholders  was  held  in  the 
Watei'loo  Sooms,  20th  January,  1830,  —  James 
Gibson  Craig  of  Riccarton  in  the  chair.  This  meeting 
deserves  to  be  mentioned  as  showing  the  propriety  of  resist- 
ing any  public  encroachment,  though  insignificant  in  itself, 
and  for  the  broad  and  sturdy  humour,  and  the  common  sense 
wdth  which  Henry  Cockbum  treated  the  affair.  It  was  to 
resist  the  collection  of  the  amount  of  City  Cess,  on  the  ground 
that  it  was  overcharged,  and  an  undue  amount  collected 
in  the  name  of  expenses.      Henry  Cockbum,  afterwards 

Lord  Cockbum,  in  stating  the  matter  said,  ^'  Will  any  one 

2  c 


402  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

tell  me,  when  a  man  comes  to  my  door  and  demands  twenty 
shillings  of  a  taz^  why  he  should  also  demand  ten  shillings 
more  for  the  trouble  of  having  that  twenty  shillings  put  into 
his  hands*  That  was  the  whole  question.  It  might  be  said 
there  was  not  here  a  large  sum-^— the  tax  was  only  £2,600, 
and  the  expense  of  collection  £600  more.  But  it  was  be- 
cause the  sum  was  so  small  he  took  so  great  an  interest  in 
it ; — just  because  it  was  a  matter  of  pure  principle,  opposed 
to  pure  extortion*  In  every  case  he  held  the  smaller  the 
sum  the  more  dignified  the  resistance.  This  was  not  a  com- 
bat about  money — ^but  of  principle  against  a  demand,  which 
if  not  resisted,  might  lead  to  remoter  and  more  serious  con- 
sequences. He  did  not  care  about  the  sixpence;  but  it  was 
a  singular  &ct  in  the  history  of  taxation,  that  sixpences  had 
on  extraordinary  propensity  to  turn  into  half  crowns  I "  This 
meeting  led  to  the  matter  being  enquired  into  by  the  Town 
Council,  who  found  that  the  expenses  of  collection  had  been 
far  too  large,  and  they  were  now  modified,  so  that  the  result 
of  the  supervision  of  the  inhabitants  proved  salutary. 

Much  distress  existed  among  the  working  classes  of  Edin- 
burgh in  the  early  part  of  1830.  A  public  subscription  was 
made  for  their  relief,  and  they  were  employed  in  breaking 
road  metal  and  improvbg  the  highways  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  city. 

The  foundation-stone  of  the  Museum  and  buildings  for  the 
College  of  Surgeons  was  laid  27th  March,  1830.  The  design 
was  by  Plajrfair,  a  very  beautiful  Grecian  temple,  one  of  the 
finest  in  Edinburgh,  with  six  fluted  Ionic  columns  at  the 
principal  entrance, — ^the  cost  £10,000. 

A  legacy  of  £2,500  to  George  Heriot's  Hospital,  from  a 
boy  of  the  name  of  George  Gray,  who  had  been  admitted 
into  the  hospital  in  1780,  and  been  afterwards  successful  in 
his  career  in  America,  was  received  in  March,  1830,  and 
deserves  to  be  mentioned  as  evincing  his  gratitude  to  that 
institution,  where  he  received  the  education  that  qualified 
him  for  his  success  in  after  life. 


1880.  AKKAL&  403 

To. show  the  amnsements  of  the  gay  world  in  Edinburgh 
at  this  period,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  a  fancy  ball  took 
place  in  the  Aasembly  Rooms,  George  Street,  Ist  April, 
1830, — ^when  there  was,  to  borrow  a  newspaper  expression, 
a  great  display  of  beauty  and  fashion,  dressed  in  a  variety 
of  fanqr  and  historical  characters. 

George  lY.  died  26th  June,  1830,  and  on  the  30th  of  the 
same  month  his  brother  the  Duke  of  Clarence  was  pro- 
claimed King,  as  William  IV.,  at  the  Royal  Exchange  of 
Eduiburgh,  at  the  gate  of  the  Castle,  and  then  at  the  palace 
of  Holyrood.  The  streets  were  lined  with  military,  and 
there  was  a  grand  public  procession  on  the  occasion. 

The  demise  of  the  Crown  led  as  nsnal  to  a  new  Parlia* 
ment,  and  a  general  election.  When  the  Town  Conndl 
met  on  5th  August,  1830,  to  elect  a  member  for  tlie  city,  the 
Lord  Provost,  Allan,  proposed  William  Dundas,  the  Lord 
Register,  for  re-election.  A  member  then  rose  and  asked  if  tlie 
Lord  Provost  would  consent  to  become  representative  for 
the  city.  He  replied, — ^'  I  decline  that  honour,  because  I  feel 
[  am  unable  to  perform  the  necessary  duties  as  they  ought 
to  be  performed.  I  am  unconnected  with  any  influential 
family,  and  I  hold  that  however  great  talents  a  member  may 
possess,  they  would  be  useless  unless  backed  by  influence 
elsewhere,  and  the  services  therefore  of  such  a  representative 
as  I  would  make,  would  be  of  little  value  to  the  city.  I  do 
not  mean  to  enter  into  any  comparative  view  of  the  merits 
of  our  own  representative  with  those  of  any  other — for  we 
have  no  other  candidate  before  us/'  This  is  a  very  apt 
specimen  of  the  feeling  that  prevailed  in  those  days  prior  to 
parliamentary  reform,  that  a  member  possessed  of  political 
family  influence  was  desiderated  for  Edinburgh.  On  this 
occasion  another  member  of  the  Council  remarked  that  the 
ground  on  which  he  objected  to  Mr.  Dundas  was  the  very 
reason  avowed  for  supporting  hitu ;  that  it  was  not  on  account 
of  his  own  character,  but  because  he  was  a  relative  of  Lord 
Melville  that  he  was  brought  forward;    and  that  he  was 


404  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

decidedlj  opposed   to   the  city  being  the  close  borgh  of 
anj  noble  family. 

Few  weeks  elapsed  from  the  death  of  George  lY.  and  the 
accession  of  William  lY.,  till  France  also  changed  her  sove- 
reign. Charles  X«,  formerly  Coont  d'Artois,  pursued  such 
'tyrannical  measures  by  his  ordinances  against  the  liberty  of 
the  press,  that  his  subjects  dethroned  him,  and  placed  his 
cousin,  Louis  Philippe,  Dake  of  Orleans,  on  the  throne. 
This  event  caused  a  great  sensation  in  Edinburgh,  and  on 
20th  August,  1830,  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held 
in  the  Waterloo  Rooms  to  express  their  admiration  of  the 
energy  and  promptitude  with  which  the  French  people  had 
lately  resisted  the  violation  of  their  pablic  rights,  and  the 
moderation  with  which  they  had  used  the  sudden  and  unex- 
ampled tiiumph  by  which  their  patriotism  had  been  rewarded. 
The  Lord  Provost,  Allan,  occupied  the  chair.  The  principal 
speakers  were. Francis  Jeffrey,  and  Henry  Cockbum.  The 
meeting  was  large,  and  of  the  most  hearty  and  enthusiastic 
character.  The  feeling  existing  was,  that  these  I'ecent  events 
in  France  would  lead  to  moderate  and  rational  reform  in 
Britain,  and  a  cordial  vote  of  thanks  was  passed  to  the  Loinl 
Provost  for  presiding  on  this  occasion,  so  cordially  co-oper- 
ating with  his  fellow  citizens;  and  when  his  conduct  there 
was  afterwards  alluded  to  at  the  Town  Council,  his  lord- 
3iiip  said,  he  was  decidedly  and  determinedly  opposed  to 
revolutionary  principles,  but  the  object  of  the  meeting  had 
been  to  express  their  approval  not  only  of  the  events,  but 
also  of  the  moderation  the  people  of  Paiis  had  displayed 
in  their  late  struggles.  The  united  Coi'porations  of  Mary's 
Chapel  elected  the  Lord  Provost  an  honorary  member  for 
his  promptitude  in  calling  this  meeting  of , his  fellow-citizens, 
when  the  requisition  was  presented  to  him. 

On  the  day  of  his  re-election,  5th  October,  the  Lord 
Provost  remai*ked  that  the  great  events  then  taking  place  on 
the  Continent  of  Europe,  would  no  doubt  teach  the  British 


1880.  AKNAL8.  405 

cabinet,  the  necessity  of  governing  the  country  in  eccordance 
with  the  spirit  and  enlightenment  of  the  age. 

A  large  and  inflnential  Anti-Slavery  meeting  was  held  in 
the  Assembly  Booms,  George  Street^  8th  October,  1830.  The 
Lford  Provost,  Allan,  in  the  chair. — ^Francis  Jefirey,  then 
Dean  of  tlie  Faculty  of  Advocates,  delivered  a  speech  in 
which  he  gave  a  short  history  of  the  efforts  made  for  the 
abolition  of  slavery. — ^The  first  attempt  came  from  the 
American  colonies  in  1690;  then  about  sixty  or  seventy 
vears  afterwards  Adam  Smith  and  Dr.  Robertson  were 
labouring  in  tlie  same  cause;  and  in  1762  in  England,  and 
1779  in  Scotland,  it  was  decided  in  the  Supreme  Courts 
that  man  could  have  no  property  in  his  fellow-men.  This 
was  brought  about  through  the  }^ilanthropic  exertions  of 
Granville  Sharp,  on  the  basis  of  common  law,  which  does 
not  recognise  a  right  of  property  in  human  beings. — He 
then  detailed  the  later  exertions  in  this  great  cause  by  Clark- 
son,  Wilberforee,  Pitt,  Dundas,  Burke  and  Fox,  till  the 
final  abolition  of  tlie  slave  trade  in  1806,  and  concluded  by 
moving  resolutions,  the  principal  feature  of  which  was  to 
declare  that  all  children  bom  of  slave  parents  after  January* 
1881,  should  be  dedared  free.  Dr.  Andrew  Thomson,  min- 
ister of  St.  George's  church,  then  rose  and  said,  he  could 
not  agree  to  the  proposed  period  of  emancipation — they  say 
slaveiy  should  be  abolished,  when  was  that  doubted  by  any 
Christian  assembly}  He  would  go  a  step  further,  and  insert 
the  word — immediaUfy,  He  was  astonished  that  any  one 
could  acquiesce  in  the  premises  laid  down  or  the  soundness 
of  the  arguments  advanced,  witliout  seeing  the  necessity  of 
an  immediate  abolition  of  the  slavery  of  800,000  human  be* 
ings.-*— Dr.  Thomson  exclaimed  with  great  emphasis,  in  con- 
cluding his  argument,  *'  Fiat  justitia,  ruat  coelum.''  Upon 
this  the  Lord  Provost  left  the  chair,  declaring  that  he  could 
not  sit  and  hear  such  language. 

A  subsequent  meeting  was  held  in  the  same  place,  19th 
October^  1830,  and  was  one  of  the  largest  and  most  respect^ 


406  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

able  assemblages  that  ever  took  place  in  Edinburgh*     The 
occurrences  at  the  preceding  one  led  to  a  great  deal  of  ex- 
citement regarding   the  present,   at  which    Dr.  Andrew 
Thomson,  a  man  of  the  most  sturdy  and  independent  prin- 
ciples, made  a  display  of  that  true  eloquence  which  speaks 
from  the  heart 'to  the  heart,  which  has  not  often  been  sur- 
passed, and  which  i&  still  vividly  remembered  in  the  metro-  * 
polls  of  Scotland.    In  speaking  of  mitigating  slavery  he 
said — '^  You  may  white-wash  the  sepulchre — ^you  may  put 
upon  it  every  adornment  that  fancy  can  suggest— you  may 
cover  it  over  with  all  the  flowers  and  ever-greens  that  the 
garden  or  the  fields  can  furnish,  so  that  it  will  appear  beau- 
tiful outwardly  unto  men.    But  it  is  a  sepulchre  still— full 
of  dead  men's  bones  and  of  all  uncleanness.     Disguise 
slavery  as  you  will — ^put  into  the  cup  ail  the  pleasing  and 
palatable  ingredients  which  you  can  discover  in  the  wide 
range  of  nature  and  of  art — still  it  is  a  bitter,  bitter  draught, 
from  which  the  understanding  and  the  heart  of  every  man 
in  whom  nature  works  unsophisticated  and  unbiassed,  recoils 
with  unutterable  aversion  and  abhorrence. — ^Why,  Sir,  shi- 
very is  the  very  upas  tree  of  the  moral  world, — ^beneath 
whose  pestiferous  shade  all  intellect  languishes  and  all  virtue 
dies.    And  if  you  would  get  quit  of  the  evil,  you  must  go 
more  thoroughly  and  effectively  to  work,  than  you  can  ever 
do  by  any  or  by  all  of  these  palliatives,  which  are  included 
under  the  term  mitigation. — ^The  foul  sepulchre  must  be 
taken  away — ^the  cup  of  oppression  must  be  dashed  to  pieces 
on  the  ground.    The  pestiferous  tree  must  be  cut  down  and 
eradicated;  it  must  be  root  and  branch  of  it  cast  into  the 
consuming  fire,  and  its  ashes  scattered  to  the  four  winds  of 
heaven.    It  is  thus  that  you  must  deal  with  slavery.     You 
must  annihilate  it— annihilate  it  now,  and  annihilate  it  for 
ever."— After  showing  the  security  we  had  for  a  peaceable 
and  bloodless  emancipation,  he  said,  ^^  but  if  there  must  be 
violence,  let  it  come,  for  it  will  soon  pass  away — ^let  it  come 
and  rage  its  little  hour,  since  it  is  to  be  succeeded  by  lasting 


1830.  AKNALB.  407 

freedom,  and  prosperity  and  happiness* — Give  xne  the  hiuv 
ricane  rather  than  the  pestilence. — Give  me  the  horricane 
with  its  thunder^  and  its  Ughtning,  and  its  tempest — give 
me  the  hurricane  with  its  partial  and  temporary  devastations, 
avrfol  though  they  be^give  me  the  hurricane  with  its  puri- 
fying, healthful,  salutary  effects — ^give  me  that  hurricane, 
infinitely  rather  than  the  noiseless  pestilence,  whose  path  ii 
never  crossed,  whose  silence  is  never  disturbed,  whose  pro- 
gress  is  never  arrested  by  one  sweeping  blast  fiiom  the 
heayen»— which  walks  peacefully  and  sullenly  through  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  breathing  poison  into  eveiy 
heart,  and  carrying  havoc  into  eveiy  home,-*enervating  all 
that  is  strong,  defacing  all  that  is  beautiful,  and  casting  its 
blight  over  the  fairest  and  happiest  scenes  of  human  life, 
and  which  from  day  to  day,  and  fix>m  yeai-  to  year,  with  in- 
tolerant and  interminable  malignity,  sends  its  thousands  of 
hapless  victims  into  the  ever-yawning  and  never-satisfied 
grave ! ''  Dr.  Thomson's  speech  occupied  nearly  three  hours. 
The  meeting  was  unanimous  in  favour  of  immediate  eman- 
cipation, and  adopted  petitions  to  both  houses  of  Parliament 
to  that  effect. 

James  Donaldson,  an  old  printer  in  Edinburgh,  and  pro- 
prietor of  the  Advertiser  newspaper,  died  19th  October, 
1830,  leaving  a  fortune  of  about  £200,000,  to  endow  an 
hospital  for  orphan  and  destitute  children.  Edinburgh  has 
now  too  many  of  these  institutions,  as  the  multipUcity  of 
them  is  apt  to  render  parents  negligent  in  providing  for 
their  children. 

The  resemblance  between  the  histoiy  of  the  Royal  House 
of  Stuart,  and  that  of  the  French  Bourbons,  is  very  remark- 
able. Charles  L  and  Louis  XYI.  were  each,  by  their  oym, 
people,  brought  firom  the  throne  to  the  scaffold.  In  Charles 
IL  and  Louis  XVIII.,  each  saw  their  dynasty  restored,  and 
untaught  by  the  salutary  lessons  of  adversity  both  djmasties 
were  speedily  hurled  from  their  respective  thn)nes,-^ame8 
U.  takmg  refuge  at  the  palace  of  St.  Germains,  in  France, 


408  mSTOBY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

and  Charles  X.  a  second  time  seeking  shelter  at  the  palace 
of  Holyrood,  in  Scotland.  When  this  same  exile  retomed 
to  Edinburgh,  20th  October,  1830,  upwards  of  thirty  years 
had  elapsed  since  he  had  first  sojourned  there  as  Count 
d'Artois,  He  was  now  accompanied  by  his  grandson, 
Henry,  Duke  de  Bordeaux*  They  landed  from  the  Admir- 
ally's  steam  yacht,  the  Lightning,  at  Newhaven  pier,  and  it 
relieves  the  formality  of  history  to  relate  the  homely  anec- 
dote that'  occurred  when  on  their  way  to  the  carriage.  An 
old  fishwife,  named  Slirsty  Ramsay,  came  forward,  and 
somewhat  brusquely  seized  the  hand  of  the  ex-king,  ex- 
claiming, ^^  God  bless  your  honour,  they  tell  me  you're  a 
pair  man,  \>ut  you're  welcome  to  Newhaven."  She  then 
kindly  put  two  shillings  and  six  pence  into  his  hand,  but 
Charles  not  anticipating  such  a  giit,  one  of  the  shillings 
dropped  on  the  quay  and  rolled  into  the  sea.  The  juvenile 
Duke  de  Bordeaux  laughed  heaitily  at  the  incident,  and 
requested  the  benevolent  fishwife  to  call  at  the  palace  of 
Holyrood  as  soon  as  cunvenient  with  four  hundi*ed  oysters. 

The  Duke  and  Duchess  d'Angouleme,  the  son  and  niece 
of  the  ex-Ejng,  joined  him  at  Holyrood  a  few  days  after. 
The  Duchess  was  the  daughter  of  Louis  XYI. 


James  Gray,  one  of  the  masters  of  the  High 
school  of  Edinburgh,  and  a  famous  Grecian  scholar, 
was  in  his  earlier  career  Master  or  Hector  of  the  High  school 
at  Dumfries*  At  a  later  period  of  his  life  he  was  appointed 
Hector  of  the  Belfast  Academy.  Thomas  Campbell,  the 
author  of  the.  Pleasures  of  Hope,  was  one  of  his  intimate 
friends,  and  Wilson  and  Hogg  were  in  the  same  circle.  The 
Ettrick  Shepherd  introduces  him  as  the  fifteenth  Bard  in 
the  Queen's  Wake,  in  which  character  his  song  is 
Edward's  DreamJ     Hogg's  description. of  him  is: 


18S0.  ANKALS.  409 

**  The  next  m»  bred  on  ecmtihem  shorB, 
Beneath  the  mitti  of  LAmmermoie; 
And  kmg,  by  Mith  end  cryttal  Tweed, 
Had  teaght  the  Border  yoaih  to  leed. 
The  stnins  of  Qreeoe,  tiie  bezd  of  Traj, 
Were  ell  hit  theme,  and  all  hie  joy. 
Well  toned  hii  Toioe  of  wan  to  ling; 
His  hair  was  daik  ae  raren'i  wing; 
Hie  eye  an  inteUeetnal  lance; 
Ko  hetrt  could  bear  ite  eeaiching  gkaoe, 
But  erery  bard  to  him  waa  dear, 
Hie  heart  was  kind,  his  tool  nnoere." 

Gray  was  the  author  of  '  The  Yale  of  Cona,'  and  *  The 
Sabbath  among  the  Mountains/  The  scene  of  the  latter  was 
placed  at  Boseneath  in  Argyleshire*  He  also  wrote  a 
life  of  Bobert  Fergosson  the  Scottish  poet.  He  afterwards 
became  a  chaplain  in  the  H.  £.  I.  Company's  service,  and 
tutor  to  the  young  Eling  of  Cutch.  He  translated  the 
Gospel  into  the  Cutch  language,  and  died  in  India,  Septem- 
ber 1830,  a  warm,  kind-hearted,  and  learned  man. 

Much  interest  was  excited  in  Edinburgh  when,  on  18th 
November,  1830,  accounts  arrived  of  the  resignation  of  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  and  Sir  Robert  Peel,  and  the  con- 
sequent breaking  up  of  the  existing  government,  which  was 
rapidly  followed  by  the  formation  of  a  new  ministry  under 
£arl  Grey,  when  three  well-known  natives  of  Edinburgh 
were  called  to  fill  important  official  situations — Henry 
Brougham  as  Lord  High  Chancellor;  Francis  Jeffrey,  Lord 
Advocate;  and  Henry  Cockbum,  Splicitor  General. 

Parliamentary  reform  now  became  the  great  question  of  the 
day,  and  a  numerous  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  in 
the  Assembly  Booms,  George  Street,  on  4th  December,  for 
the  purpose  of  petitioning  Parliament  to  extend  the  elec- 
tive franchise  in  the  burghs  and  counties  of  Scotland. 
The  chairman  of  the  meeting,  Mr.  James  Gibson  Craig 
of  Siccarton,  remarked  that  the  Duke  of  Wellington, 
the  greatest  Captain  of  the  age,  whose  relief  of  the  Catholics 


41(X  HISTORY.  OF  EDINBIJBGH. 

was  enoagh  to  immortaliae  any  man^  and  whose  power  had 
appeared  to  be  permanent,  the  moment  he  declared  against 
parliamentary  reform  was  hurled  from  his  seat  by  the  Toice 
of  the  people;  and  he  hoped  if  the  present  ministry  fbi)B^t 
their  duty,  they  would  meet  a  similar  fate.  The  lead- 
ing resolution  adopted  by  this  meeting  was  that  the  system 
of  representation  in  Scotland  was  founded  both  in  bnrghs 
and  shires,  on  the  principle  of  conferring  the  elective 
franchise  on  a  very  small  number  of  persons  to  the  utter  ex* 
elusion  of  the  public,  and  was  calculated  in  its  practical 
effects  to  corrupt  the  constituents,  to  impair  the  responsibility 
of  the  representatives,  and  to  weaken  the  attachment  of  the 
people  to  the  Government  and  the  institutions  of  the 
country. 


9t*  lUAftt  SiiBftMii* 

Dr.  Robert  Anderson,  well  known  as  the  centre  of 

1830.  * 

a  literary  circle  in  Edinburgh  about  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  was  bom  at  Camwath  in  1749.  He 
came  to  reside  in  Edinburgh  in  1784,  and  some  years  after- 
wards brought  out  a  large  edition  of  the  British  Poets, 
with  biographical  memoirs;  subsequently  an  edition  of 
Smollett's  Works,  with  a. memoir;  and  again  a  *  Life  of  Dr. 
Samuel  Johnson,  with  Critical  Observations  on  his  Works.' 
He  was  fur  several  years  editor  of  the  Edinburgh  Magazine, 
a  work  commenced  in  1784  and  ccmtinued  till  1804,  when 
it  was  incorporated  with  the  Seats  Magazine.  Thomas 
Campbell,  the  author  of  the  Pleasures  of  Hope,  wbs  a 
proti^  of  Dr.  Anderson,  and  it  was  through  his  interven-r 
tioa  that  that  distinguished  poem  was  brought  befiire  the 
public  He  was  also  the  means  of  aiding  many  deserving 
young  men  in  their  literary  career.    He  died  in  1830. 


1831.  AKMAUB.  Ml 

Heniy  Mackenzie,  the  autlior  of  the  ^Man  of 
Feeling,*  was  bom  in  Liberton^s  Wynd,  in  the  Old 
citj,  Angnst,  1745.  After  studying  at  the  High  School 
and  Uniyenity,  he  seryed  an  apprenticeship  in  the  law 
department  of  the  Exchequer,  and  at  a  later  period  be> 
came  Attomq^  for  the  Crown.  The  'Man  of  Feeling' 
was  published  anonymously  in  1771.  It  was  followed  by 
the  '  Man  of  the  World '  and  '  Julia  de  Boubigne.'  The 
Mirror^  a  periodical  somewhat  in  the  style  of  Addison's 
SpeeUUoTy  was  published  in  Edinburgh  1779-80,  in  a  small 
sheet  twice  a- week,  at  the  price  of  three  half-pence.  Henry 
Mackenzie  was  one  of  its  principal  contributors,  and  also  a 
writer  in  the  Lounger^ — a  similar  publication  brought  out  in 
Edinburgh  1785-7.  In  one  of  his  papers  there,  he  gave  an 
account  of  the  poems  of  Robert  Bums,  and  thus  perhaps 
first  attracted  the  public  attention  to  them. 

A  complete  edition  of  Mackenzie's  works  in  8  vols,  ap- 
peared  in  1808.  He  was  one  of  the  leading  men  in  the  dis- 
tinguished literary  society  of  Edinburgh  fer  half  a  century* 

Sir  Walter  Scott  dedicated  Waverley  to  him,  styling  him 
<<  the  Scottish  Addison.''    He  died  Uth  Januaxy,  1831. 

Dr.  Andrew  Thomson,  one  of  the  most  energetic 
and  able  men  the  Church  of  Scotland  has  produced, 
was  bom  at  Sanquhar,  11th  July,  1779.  He  became  min- 
ister of  Sprouston  in  1802,  and  six  years  after  was  trans- 
ferred to  PertL  In  1810  he  was  chosen  minister  of  the 
New  Greyfriars  parish  in  Edinburgh,  and  edited  an  able 
monthly  periodical,  ^tbe  Edinburgh  Christian  Instructor.' 
He  also  contributed  to  Brewster^s  Edinburgh  Encyclopsedia. 
In  1814  he  was  appointed  minister  of  the  new  church  of  St. 
-George's  in  Edinburgh,  where  he  became  the  source  of  at- 


412  niarrosT  of  edinbubgh. 

tnctum  to  such  an  andience  of  the  opptf  classes  as  never 
had  been  witnessed  in  any  chorch  in  Edinboigh.  His  ap- 
pearances as  a  leader  in  the  General  Assembly,  showed  a 
readiness  of  wit,  and  power  in  debate  not  surpassed  bj  the 
most  eminent  men  at  the  Scottish  bar.  His  speeches  against 
the  Bible  Society  circulating  the  Apocirpha  along  with  the 
Bible,  were  yeiy  powerfiil;  and  those  he  delivered  in  Edin- 
burgh on  the  Emancipation  of  the  Slaves,  made  an  impres- 
sion not  many  modem  OTators  have  equalled.  Boldness 
and  independence  was  the  character  of  his  mind«  In  pri- 
vate life  he  was  held  in  the  highest  estimation.  He  died 
very  suddenly  at  his  house  in  Melville  Street,  9th  Febru- 
ary, 1831.  His  death  made  a  very  considerable  sensation 
in  the  city,  as  he  was  known  to  all.  His  funeral  was  a 
public  one,  all  classes  and  sects  attending.  Dr.  Chalmers 
preached  his  funeral  sermon,  20th  Febmary,  1831. 

Lord  John  Russell,  as  the  organ  of  the  ministry, 
introduced  the  Reform  Bill  in  the  House  of  Commons 
on  28th  February,  1831. .  A  £10  parliamentary  franchise 
was  its  leading  feature,  and  among  the  proposed  changes, 
Edinburgh,  the  metropolis  of  Scotland,  was  to  have  two 
members.  Another  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held 
on  9th  March,  to  consider  this  great  measure,  which  had 
now  excited  deep  interest  through  the  whole  bland;  and 
the  principal  resolution  adopted  was  to  the  effect,  that 
the  plan  of  reform  lately  introduced  into  parliament  by  his 
Majesty's  ministers,  entitled  them  to  the  gratitude  of  all 
those  who  are  aware  of  the  nature  or  value  of  constitutional 
privileges,  and  who  are  friendly  to  the  allaying  of  the  dis- 
content which  has  so  long  and  so  justly  prevailed  with  re- 
gard to  the  state  of  the  representation — it  being  a  plan 
which,  while  it  confirms  tlie  rights  of  the  people,  strengthens 
those  of  every  other  order  in  the  state,  and  tends  in  an 
especial  manner  to  secure  the  stability  of  the  throne  and  the 
general  tranquillity  of  the  empire ;  and  on  the  17th  a  ped- 


1831.  AKNAL8.  413 

tion  in  &y(mr  of  the  Beform  bill  was  dispatched  with  thirty- 
one  thousand  signataros  probably  the  most  uumeroiisly 
signed  petition  to  parliament  that  ever  came  firom  Edin- 
burgh. 

Very  great  interest  was  felt  regarding  the  second  reading 
of  the  Beform  Bill  in  the  House  of  Commons^  which  took 
place  on  22d  March, — 301  voting  against  it,  and  302  for 
it.  A  crowd  had  assembled  at  the  post-office  for  three  days, 
anxious  to  learn  the  result.  The  intelligence  was  received 
v^-ith  cheers,  and  rapidly  spread  tlirough  the  dty.  On  28th 
March,  a  general  illumination  took  place  in  honour  of  the 
evenL  Damage,  from  a  crowd  of  idle  lads  breaking  windows, 
was  sustained  in  the  citj  to  the  extent  of  £2,000  on  tliis 
occasion. 

The  Beform  Bill  proposed  to  increase  the  number  of  mem- 
bers for  Scotland,  and  slightly  to  diminish  the  number  for 
England.  The  House  of  Commons,  on  19th  April,  1831, 
divided  on  this  point:  299  for,  to  291  against.  Three  days 
thereafter  parliament  was  dissolved,  it  being  deemed  desirable 
to  take  the  sense  of  the  country  regarding  ^  the  bill,  the 
whole  bill,  and  nothing  but  the  bill,'  which  was  now  tlie 
popular  cr}\  In  Edinburgh;  William  Dundas,  the  Lord 
Begister,  who  had  been  eight  times  elected  member  for  the 
city,  intimated  his  intention  of  retiring,  and  the  Dundas 
interest  was  now  exerted  in  favour  of  his  nephew,  Eobert 
Adam  Dundas.  Many  members  of  council,  who  did  not 
relish  the  idea  of  being  merely  handed  over  from  a  senior  to 
a  junior  member  of  the  house  of  Amiston,  were  in  favour 
of  electing  their  own  chief  magistrate,  Mr.  Allan,  of  Glen, 
as  their  representative;  but  he  would  not  agree  to  become 
a  candidate,  and  Francis  Jefirey,  Lord  Advocate,  was 
brought  forward.  The  feeling  of  the  citizens  was  de- 
cidedly in  favour  of  Jeffrey.  A  meeting  of  the  in- 
habitants was  held  on  30th  April,  and  a  petition  signed  by 
upwards  of  seventeen  tliousand  inhabitants  was  presented 
to  the  council  to  that  effect,  on  3d  May,  1831,  the  day  fixed 


414  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

for  the  election.  Seldom  had  the  city  been  in  a  state  of 
greater  excitement.  Of  the  thirty-three  electors  of  the 
Town  Council,  exercising  their  franchise  for  the  last  time, 
seventeen  voted  for  Mr.  Dundas,  fourteen  for  the  Lord 
Advocate,  and  two  for  the  Lord  Provost.  The  annonnoe- 
ment  of  this  result  increased  the  agitation  in  the  city.  A 
crowd  molested  the  Lord  Provost  on  his  waj  home  from  the 
election,  and  it  was  alleged  some  desperate  characters 
threatened  to  throw  him  over  the  North  Bridge.  The  police 
and  the  4th  Royal  Irish  Dragoons,  and  a  part  of  the  79th 
regiment  were  called  out,  and  the  riot  act  was  read.  In  the 
evening  the  Lord  Advocate  appeared,  and  ordered  the 
military  to  be  withdrawn,  and  this  exciting  day  passed  over. 

At  this  period  five  acres  of  the  ground  around  the  area  of 
the  ancient  North  Loch,  was  laid  out  as  garden  paxtcrres,  and 
planted  with  seventy-seven  thousand  various  trees  and  shrubs 
under  the  surveillance  of  Dr.  Patrick  Neill,  a  well-known 
naturalist  and  citizen,  who  received  the  thanks  of  the  council 
for  his  patriotic  labours  in  this  matter. 

About  this  time,  the  new  water-works  for  the  supply  of  the 
city  with  that  great  necessary  of  life,  were  completed  under 
the  superintendence  of  Mr.  James  Jardine,  Engineer.  The 
liistory  of  the  supply  of  the  city  with  water  goes  back  to 
1681,  when  Peter  Bruschie,  a  Q-erman  plumber,  received 
about  £3,000  for  laying  a  leaden  pipe  three  inches  in  diame- 
ter from  Comiston  to  a  reservoir  on- the  Castle-hill.  This  was 
found  insufficient,  and  in  1722  one  of  four  and  a  half  inches 
was  laid;  in  1785  a  cast-iron  one  of  five  inches  diameter  was 
added.  The  supply  was  still  too  scanty,  and  in  1790,  an 
iron  pipe  of  seven  inches  diameter  was  laid  fit>m  Swanston 
to  the  city,  and  additional  springs  brought  in.  This  cost 
£20,000.  Scarcity  of  water  still  being  experienced,  the 
magistrates  consulted  Dr.  Hope,  Professor  Playfair,  and 
the  distinguished  engineer  Mr.  Telford,  who  prepared 
a  report  in  1813  on  the  subject,  and  it  was  finally  arranged 
that  the  whole   water    apparatus    should    be  made  over 


1831.  AKNALa  415 

by  the  Corporation  to  a  joint  stock,  company^  which  was 

incorporated  by  act  of  parliament  in  1819^  with  a  capital  of 

£135,000,  extended  in  1826  to  £253,000.    There  are  two 

reservoirs,— one  in  Heriot's  Green,  and  the  great  one  on  the 

Castle-hill.    The  greater  part  of  the  water  was  now  brought 

from  the  Crawley  spring,  about  seven  miles  south  of  the  city, 

and  an  expensive  compensation  reservoir  had  to  be  erected 

for  the  mills  which  were  deprived  of  the  water.     This  forms 

a  lake  half-a-mile  in  length,  covers  about  forty  acres  of 

ground,  and  at  the  embankment  is  about  sixty  feet  deep. 

Crawley  spring  is  564  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.     The 

expense  of  all  these  new  works,  with  the  pipes,  wliich  vary 

from  18  to  20  inches  in   diameter,  amounted  to  neai*Iy 

£200,000.    It  was  calculated,  that  these  works  would  afford 

twenty  gallons  a-day  for  each  person,  and  it  was  boasted 

that  the  supply  of  water  for  Edinburgh  was  now  one-third 

more  than  that  afforded  for  London,  six  times  more  than 

Paris,  and  four  times  more  than  Constantinople,  though 

ancient  Rome,  which  brought  whole  rivers  to  its  capital,  had 

one  hundred  times  greater  supply. 

A  general  and  brilliant  illumination  took  place  in  Edin- 
burgh, on  8th  September,  1831,  the  day  of  the  coronation 
of  William  lY.,  and  his  Queen,  Adelaide. 

The  new  Parliament  met  21st  June,  1831.  Lord  John 
Russell  again  brought  in  the  Reform  Bill.  The  member 
for  Edinburgh,  R.  A.  Dundas,  spoke  against  it,  on  5th 
July,  but  despite  of  his  and  more  weighty  opposition, 
the  second  reading  was  carried  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons two  days  thereafter  by  a  majority  of  186.  The 
excitement  on  the  subject  continued  in  the  Scottish  metro- 
polis as  in  other  paits  of  the  country.  The  bill  passed  the 
House  of  Commons  on  21st  September,  and  was  carried  to 
the  House  of  Peers.  The  public  anxiety  was  then  aroused 
about  the  result  Another  meeting  of  the  inhabitants 
took  place  in  the  Waterloo  Hotel,  22d  September,  1831, 
when  the  primary  resolution  was,  "  that  the  zeal  and  anxiety 


416  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

of  the  people  for  the  success  of  the  Reform  Bill,  instead  of 
abating  by  time,  continue  to  increase  in  intensity  with  the 
progress  of  the  measure,  and  will  unquestionably  rise  in 
proportion  to  every  obstacle  by  which  its  final  triumph  may 
be  opposed."  A  petition  to  the  House  of  Lords  anxiously 
prajring  them  for  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  country  to 
pass  the  measare,  and  an  address  of  a  similar  tenor  to  the 
king,  were  also  adopted. 

Four  successive  days  in  the  beginning  of  October, 
crowds  of  respectable  citizens  were  anxiously  awaiting  the 
arrival  of  the  mail,  to  leaiii  tlie  i*esult  of  the  debate  about 
the  second  reading  of  the  Reform  Bill  in  the  House  of  Peers. 
After  a  lengthened  discussion,  the  House  divided,  158  for 
the  second  reading,  199  against  it,  being  a  majority  of  41 
against  the  bill.  On  the  lOtfa,  Lord  Ebrington  moved 
resolutions  in  the  House  of  Commons  expressing  regret  at 
this  result,  aud  of  the  determination  of  the  House  to  adhere 
to  the  leading  features  of  the  Reform  Bill,  and  of  their  con- 
fidence in  the  existing  ministry.  These  resolutions  were 
carried  by  329  to  198,  being  a  majority  of  131.  This  col- 
lision between  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament  created  intense 
anxiety  throughout  the  country.  To  afford  an  inter\''al  of 
repose  after  the  protracted  session.  Parliament  was  prorogued 
on  the  20th  October,  1831.  At  this  time,  the  excitement 
was  so  great  that  immense  meetings  were  brought  together 
under  the  name  of  Political  Unions.  The  Edinburgh  one 
was  held  in  the  King's  Park,  Holyrood.  This  was  the  first 
meeting  in  the  open  air,  and  upwards  of  ten  thousand  per- 
sons attended.  On  this  occasion,  Mr.  William  Tait,  biblio- 
pole and  publisher  in  Edinburgh,  suggested  that  if  ministers 
thought  the  Bill  would  not  pass  without  it,  they  ought  to 
create  as  many  peers  as  would  ensure  its  success,  and  carry 
it  through  with  as  much  speed  as  the  forms  of  Parliament 
would  allow. — On  21st  November,  the  Political  Unions 
having  adopted  a  sort  of  military  organization,  were  de- 
clared by  royal  proclamation  to  be  illegal.     A  meeting  of 


1831.  AKKAXJB.  41 7 

BQch  of  the  inhabitants  of  Edinburgh  as  were  averse  to  the 
Beform  Bill,  was  held  in  the  Assembly  Booms,  George 
Street,  on  28th  November,  1831,  when  Sir  John  S.  Forbes, 
Bart.,  was  called  to  the  chair.  An  address  to  the  £ing  in 
unison  with  these  views  was  adopted,  and  about  seventeen 
hundred  signatures  were  appended  to  this  document. 

Parliament  met  again  on  6th  December,  when  Lord 
John  Bussell  again  brought  in  the  Beform  Bill  with  some 
alterations.  On  the  17th  the  House  of  Commons  divided 
on  the  second  reading, — 324  in  favour,  and  162  against  it, 
majori^  162. 

The  beaatiftil  and  classical  monument  to  Professor  Dugald 
Stewart,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Calton-hill,  was  finished 
towards  the  close  of  1831,  and  with  the  neighbouring  menu* 
ment,  to  his  old  coUeague  Professor  Plajfair — and  those  on 
a  lower  part  of  the  hill  to  Hume  and  Bums,  renders  the 
Calton  the  memorial-ecene  of  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
men  in  Scottish  literature.  The  triangular  portion  of  the 
hill  between  the  Boyal  and  Begent  Terraces  was  now 
beautifully  laid  out  in  walks  and  clamps  of  trees,  and  the 
view  from  this  part  of  tlie  hill  is  perhaps  unequalled  in 
Scotland;  in  fact  it  is  impossible  to  imagine  a  finer  view 
than  the  Calton  presents, — ^the  New  town-^the  Firth  of 
Forth — the  coast  of  Fife— Holyrood — ^the  Old  town  with 
its  picturesque  aspect,  and  smoking  chimneys;  the  view  thus 
varies  at  every  step  you  take,  and  travellers  generally  con- 
sider it  as  one  of  the  finest  in  Europe. 

NotlMititel  Gotai. 

Nathaniel  or  Neil  Gow,  was  a  celebrated  musi- 

1831* 

cian,  and  was  bom  at  Dunkeld  in  1766.    He  was  sent 

early  to  Edinburgh,  and  became  a  composer  of  Scottish  airs, 

and  a  leader  of  the  fashionable  musical  bands.    In  1796, 

he  was  in  extensive  business  as  a  music-seller.    He  had 

an  annual  public  ball  in  the  citv  in  the  month  of  March, 

2  p  " 


418  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH, 

which  was  the  resort  of  a  fiuhionable  crowd,  in  the  Assem- 
bly Booms,  Greorge  Street.  He  also  taught  the  violin  and 
piano-forte.  He  died  in  1831.  ELis  father,  Neil  Gow,  was 
a  similar  Edinburgh  celebrity,  and  died  twenty-four  years 
previous. 

Towards  the  close  of  1831,  sanitary  preparations  began 
to  be  made  in  Edinborgh,  with  a  view  to  mitigate  the  dan- 
ge^r  of  the  insidious  disease  called  cholera,  which  had  raged 
in  India  for  many  years,  and  seemed  gradually  to  come  to 
Europe  by  way  of  Rassia  and  Germany;  in  November,  it 
appeared  in  Sunderland  and  Newcastle.  The  precautions 
taken  in  Edinburgh,  were  the  Commissioners  of  Police  being 
ordered  to  visit  their  respective  wards,  and  to  see  that 
cleansing  operations  were  everywhere  adopted.  Pigs,  which 
had  been  frequently  kept  in  the  dwelling-houses  of  the  lower 
classes,  were  ordered  to  be  removed,  and  other  salutary  re* 
gulations  followed  out;  hospitals  were  provided  in  case  pf 
need;  and  it  was  officially  announced  by  the  medical  autho- 
rities, that  it  was  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  public 
health  that  an  improved  diet,  and  flannel  clothing,  and  wool- 
len stockings,  should  be  given  to  the  poor,^that  no  person 
.should  sit  down  and  get  cool,  with  wet  feet, — that  strict  at- 
tention should  be  paid  to  keep  the  feet  warm  and  dry, — that 
repletion  and  indigestion  be  guarded  against,— all  raw  vege- 
tables, excrescent,  unwholesome  food  and  liquid,  avoided, — 
temperance  rigidly  observed  in  every  thing;  no  means 
neglected  that  might  tend  to  preserve  individual  health. 
The  neglect  of  any  or  all  these  precautions  would  not  pro- 
duce, it  was  stated,  the  specific  disease  called  spasmodic 
cholera,  but  such  neglect  would  most  assuredly  dispose 
those  living  in  an  infected  atmosphere,  to  be  attacked, 
when  most  probably  they  might  otherwise  have  escaped.  It 
was  considered  tlie  most  effectual  means  by  which  this  dis- 
ease might  be  prevented  from  extending — the  enabling  the 
poor,  who  were  generally  first  attacked,  to  oppose  to  its  in- 


1832.  AKKJLL&  419 

flaence,  those  ameliorations  in  diet,  clothing,  and  lodging, 
which  puhlic  and  private  charity  would,  it  was  hoped,  not 
fail  to  afford.  In  India,  one  of  the  native  remedies  resorted 
to,  was  nibbing  the  spine,  along  the  small  of  the  back,  with 
the  juice  of  garlic. 

A  useful  suggestion  adopted  in  Edinburgh,  was  the  ex* 
tensive  distribution  of  soup  to  the  poor,  and  affording  every 
facility  to  the  middle  and  lower  classes  to  wash,  bleach,  and 
dry  their  clothes,  and  that  public  parks  should  be  kept  open 
for  these  purposes. 

A  royal  commission,  xmder  the  authority  of  the 
Privy  Council,  was  issued  on  the  14th  January,  1832, 
constituting  a  Board  of  Health  for  the  city  of  Edinburgh, 
consisting  of  several  of  the  civic  and  legal  officials,  and 
some  of  the  most  eminent  medical  men.  Police  were  now 
stationed  at  every  entrance  to  the  city  to  prevent  the  ingress 
of  all  vagrants  and  beggars,  and  people  not  of  healthy  and 
cleanly  appearance.  This  at  first  sight  might  seem  harsh, 
but  the  alarm  for  the  pubUc  health  rendered  it  necessary. 
The  cholera  gradually  approached  Edinburgh.  In  the 
month  of  January,  there  were  two  hundred  cases  occurred 
in  Musselburgh,  six  miles  from  the  city,  and  the  first  in 
Edinburgh  on  tlie  27th  of  that  month.  The  public  feeling 
for  some  time  had  been  as  if  a  dark  cloud  hung  over  the 
city,  which  imagination  made  more  alarming  and  blacker 
than  the  reality.  From  the  commencement  of  the  year  to 
the  end  of  August,  about  1,000  cases  occurred,  nearly  600 
proving  fatal. 

The  22d  March  was  by  royal  proclamation  set  apart  as  a 
national  Fast  on  account  of  cholera. 

A  royal  Commission  for  visiting  the  Universities  and 
Colleges  of  Scotland,  had  been  issued  in  1826.  Early  in 
the  year  1832  tliey  brought  out  their  report,  of  which  a  con- 
siderable portion  was  devoted  to  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh. The  income  arising  fix)m  the  different  chaii*s  was 
stated  as  follows: 


420 


EQ8T0BT  OF  EDINBUBGR. 


Principal, 

£151 

Public  Law, 

£2«5 

Divinity* 

196 

Conveyancing, 

582 

Church  ffistory,     . 

200 

Materia  Medica, 

1,281 

Latin* 

1,407 

Practice  of  Physic, 

1,008 

Ij^rocKy 

1,259 

Chemistry,     . 

2^13 

766 

Theory  of  Physic, 

882 

Logic, 

60S 

Anatomy, 

1,019 

Bhetoric* 

234 

Midwifery, 

596 

Moral  Pbiloeophj, 

658 

Clinical  Medicine,  . 

801 

Natural  Pbiloaophy, 

690 

Clinical  Surgery, 

711 

XToiversal  History, 

205 

Military  Surgery, 

175 

Astronomy,    . 

120 

Medical  Jurisprudence, 

118 

Natural  History, 

814 

Botany, 

1,026 

Civil  Law, 

251 

Agriculture^ 

113 

Scots  Law, 

1,053 

Two  young  men  from  Peebles  who  became  booksellers  in 
the  Scottish  metropolis,  have  exercised  a  marked  influence 
in  literature,  and  been  the  architects  of  their  own  fortoue — 
William  and  Robert  Chambers.  The  former  commenced 
ChaaniJbtTz'%  Jaumalj  4th  February^  1832,  a  weekly  sheet 
sold  for  tlie  sum  of  three  half-pence.  Chambers  thought 
it  a  great  venture  to  print  5,000  copies  of  the  first  number, 
but  under  the  management  of  the  brothers  it  soon  reached 
a  circulation  of  50,000. 

Tait's  Edinburgh  Magazine  was  commenced  in  March, 
1832.  This  was  an  attempt  to  start  a  monthly  magazine  of 
high  literary  character,  in  combination  with  strong  liberal 
or  radical  politics.  It  was  ushered  in  with  a  considerable 
sound  of  trumpets,  and  was  in  consequence  quizzically  called 
Puff's  Magazine.  Blackwood's  and  Taifs  Magazines  might 
now  be  designated  as  the  two  extremes  in  politics,  and  the 
announcement  of  this  new  periodical,  led  to  some  amusing 
newspaper  squibs.  One  of  the  wittiest  of  these  was  an  ode 
addr^sed  to  William  Blackwood,  Esq.: 

Yeal  Yours,  my  daar  Will,  was  a  happy  oondition. 
When  Kaga  the  great,  flourished  miu  opposition; 
When  Christopher's  cratch,  like  a  magical  wand. 
Was  wielded  in  triumph,  and  ruled  all  the  land. 


183S.  ANNALS.  421 

Wben  Tickler  the  teety,  and  Morgan  the  major. 
In  gall  clipped  their  pent,  and  wrote  at  for  a  wager; 
When  Satire  in  bright  oomtcationt  wat  teen; 
Ton  dream'd  not  of  Rottell,  nor  Tait*t  Magaainel 

When  Lookhart,  and  Wilton,  and  ftr-iiuned  liaginn, 
Bwh^  rrralt  by  doaent-  thought  marey  a  tin; 
Broke  radical  poett,  by  tooret  on  the  wheel, 
And  tortured  the  imall  deer  ifnth  enginet  of  tteel, 
When  yoor  Theodore  Hookt,  and  yonr  Crokert  and  Barrowa, 
Hade  haplett  Whig-anthort  paat  nnder  the  hamwt, 
Alat!  yon  he*er  thonght  of  taoh  championt  I  ween. 
At  Althoipe,  and  Broogham,  and  Tait^t  liagaxinel 

When  Conttable't  lage  periodica]  died, 

"  Bnreka!"  yonr  brilliant  fraternity  cried, 

'*  The  Old  Soottith  lady  baa  gone  to  Apollo, 

And  the  *  yellow  and  bine '  in  a  twinkling  mnst  follow. 

Like  tpiritt  we'll  ride  on  the  wiogs  of  the  itonn, 

And  blight  the  incipient  bndt  of  Reform." 

They  thought  not  of  Imoiitf ,  and  of  admitart  keen. 

Of  Bowring— Macanlay— and  Tait't  Magaiine! 

Old  Buchanan  mutt  go  all  to  pigt  and  to  whittlet, 
He  already  lookt  grim  from  hit  arbour  of  thiatlea; 
And  Delta,  the  doctor,  with  woudeiftd  tkUl, 
Hat  eoctrtoted  the  tting  from  O'Doherty't  quill; 
And  Timothy  Tickler,  impatient  mutt  ride 
From  Ambrote*t  tuppera,  to  tup  at  Sonthside; 
And  old  Kit,  the  renown'd,  he  will  die  of  the  tpleen, 
Of  gout,  the  Repobm  Bill,  and  Tait't  Magazine] 

Yet*  Kit,  after  all,  it  a  gloriout  fellow, 
Two  hourt  after  dinner,  when  more  than  half  mellow; 
But  hit  politict— pihaw !  they  are  of  the  latt  century. 
And  none  read  him  now  but  the  old  Tory  gentry; 
Though  hit  learning  and  talents  are  deep  and  refined, 
"  He  to  party  gare  up  what  wat  meant  for  mankind;** 
Tho*  hit  humour  and  wit  are  both  cauttic  and  keen. 
He  mutt  quail  hit  broad  banner  to  Tait't  Magaaine ! 

Adieu,  my  dear  Sir,  to  your  brilliant  fraternity, 
They'll  ne'er  write  down  *'  the  bill "  tho*  they  write  to  eternity. 
Tho'  they'Te  humour,  and  fancy,  and  talentt,  and  learning, 
The  tigns  of  the  times  they  are  alow  in  ditceming. 


422  HISTORY  OP  EDINBUBGH. 


To  11II7,  erva  yet,  mmd  the  Kn»  and  his  Hmittar. 

Left  them  thmk  what  thef  mw  ate,  and  what  they'd  haTe  bean 

Had  thejr  atoefc  to  the  feaneta  oT  Taaf  a  ^^ip-^-'  I 


A  distingiiiilied  fenude  writer,  Mn.  Johnstoiey  the  war 
tboress  of.  ^  Clan  Albin/  and  the  ^  Nights  of  the  Bound 
Table,'  and  who  has  yerj  appropriately  been  called  the 
Maria  Ed||;eworth  of  Scotland,  tock  the  principal  charge 
of  the  literary  department  of  tiiis  poiodical,  and,  by  her  tact 
and  judgment,  raised  and  maintained  its  literary  character. 

The  Beform  Bill  passed  the  House  of  Commons  22d 
March,  1832.  The  numbers  on  the  third  reading  were,  for 
355,  against  239,  majority  116;  and  a  few  days  after  it 
was  again  carried  to  the  House  of  Peers.  The  division  on 
the  second  reading  there  was  looked  for  with  intense  anxiety 
in  Edinburgh  as  elsewhere.  It  took  place  13th  April,  1832, 
when  the  vote  w«s  184  for,  175  against,  majority  9.  It 
marked  the  anxiety  on  this  subject,  that  there  were  about 
ten  thousand  people  in  Edinburgh,  waiting  the  arrival  of 
the  mail,  when  this  intelligence  came. 

A  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  in  the 
King's  Park,  Holyrood,  on  24th  April,  about  forty  thousand 
people  present.  It  presented  a  highly  picturesque  scene. 
John  Archibald  Murray,  Esq.  (now  Lord  Murray)  was 
called  to  the  chair.  A  petition  to  the  House  of  Lords  was 
adopted,  expressing  satisfaction  at  the  second  reading  of  the 
Bill,  and  praying  their  lordships  to  pass  the  measure. 

The  procession  on  this  occasion  was  of  the  gayest  descrip- 
tion,— ^banners,  bagpipes,  and  military  bands.  Fortunately 
all  was  conducted  in  a  quiet  and  peaceable  manner,*-good 
humour  prevailing.  The  Edinburgh  petition  was  presented 
to  the  House  of  Peers  by  the  Lord  Chancellor  on  the 
7  th  May,  and  the  same  evening,  when  the  Bill  was  under 
discussion  in  Committee,  ministers  were  in  a  minority  of 
35,  the  numbers  being  116  to  151;  and  two  days  idter, 
Earl   Grey   announced    that  the   ministry  had   resigned. 


1882.  AmtALa  42S 

This  again  led  to  a  great  agitation  throughout  the  ooon- 
try. 

In  Edinbnrgh  another  great  public  meeting  of  the  inha- 
bitants was  held  in  the  Sling's  Park,  Holyrood,  on  15th 
May,  1832.  The  day  was  fine-*the  scene  pictaresqne  and 
imposing.  The  procession  was  more  than  doable  the  extent  of 
the  former.  One  item  of  it  consisted  of  eight  thousand 
workmen.  Its  magnitude  was  felt  appalling,  especially 
to  the  opponents  of  the  Reform  Bill.  Sir  Thomas  Dick 
Liander,  Bart,  was  called  to  the  chair.  The  meeting  peti* 
tioned  the  House  of  Commons  to  stop  the  supplies  till  the 
Reform  Bill  was  passed. 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  attempted  to  form  a  ministry, 
but  after  a  few  days  resigned  the  task,  and  on  18th  May, 
Earl  Grey  intimated  that  he  now  saw  sufficient  security  for 
passing  the  Reform  Bill,  and  that  he  and  his  colleagues 
continued  in  office.  On  4th  June,  tlie  Reform  Bill  was 
read  a  third  time  in  the  House  of  Peers.  Contents  106, 
non-contents  22, — majority  84;  and  on  7  th  June,  1832,  it 
reoeiyed  the  royal  assent,  and  became  the  law  of  the  land, 
thus  setting  at  rest  the  protracted  agitation  regarding  this 
great  measure.  The  Reform  Bill  for  Scotland  which 
assigned  two  members  to  Edinburgh,  received  the  royal 
assent  17  July,  1832,  and  an  actiye  canvass  then  commenced 
for  the  representation  of  the  city.  The  Hon.  James  Aber- 
cromby,  who  had  in  former  years  taken  an  active  part  in 
endeavouring  to  extend  the  elective  franchise  in  Edinburgh, 
hail  a  few  years  before  been  appointed  Lord  Chief  Baron  for 
Scotland,  but  the  Exdiequer  Court  being  now  abolished, 
he  became  eligible,  and  along  with  Francis  Jeffi:ey,  Lord 
Advocate,  was  now  brought  forward  as  a  candidate. 

A  grand  jubilee  Reform  procession  took  place  on  10th 
August,  1832;  business  was  suspended,  and  the  day  made  an 
entire  holiday.  The  different  trades  displayed  their  banners 
on  the  occasion.  The  procession  was  three  miles  in  length, 
and  marched  to  Bumtsfield  Links,  and  it  was  computed 


424  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUSQH. 

that  not  less  than  one  hundred  thousand  people  enjoyed  the 
festive  scene.  In  the  evening  a  public  dinner  took  place  in 
the  Waterloo  Hotel,  Sir  James  Gibson  Craig  in  the  chair, 
and  about  five  hundred  gentleman  present. 

_        Sir  James  Macintosh,  one  of  the  most  accom- 

1882 

plished  literary  men  of  his  time,  was  bom  in  Inver- 
ness-shire, 24th  October,  1765.     His  early  predilection  for 
books  seemed  almost  invincible.     When  at  Aberdeen  Uni- 
versity, he  formed  an  intimacy  with  Robert  Hall,  afterwards 
of  Leicester,  also  known  as  one  of  the  most  celebrated  writers 
and  orators  of  modem  times..    Macintosh  studied  medicine 
at  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  under  Cullen  and  Black, 
and  obtained  his  medical  degree  there.     He  afterwards  went 
to  London  and  adopted  the  legal  profession.    His  celebrated 
work,  the  ^  Vindiciss  Gallicse,'  appeared  in  1791.    It  rapidly 
ran  through  three  editions,  and  was  the  means  of  intro* 
ducing  him  into  the  highest  literary  and  political  circles,  in- 
cluding Sheridan,  Fox,  Grey,  and  Burke.     In  1798  he 
xlelivered  ^  Lectures  on  the  Law  of  Nature  and  of  Nations,' 
which  were  considered  of  the  highest  excellence.     His  de- 
fence of  Peltier,  who  was  tried  for  a  libel  against  Napoleon 
in  1803,  was  deemed  almost  imrivalled  as  a  piece  of  forensic 
eloquence.    Macintosh  was  Recorder  of  Bombay  for  a  few 
years.     In  1813,  after  his  return  from  India,  he  sat  in  Par- 
liament for  Nairn.    In  1820,  on  the  death  of  Dr.  Thomas 
Brown,  it  was  hoped  that  he  would  be  induced  to  take  the 
Moral  Philosophy  chair  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh, 
but  when  urged  by  his  friends,  he  declined  the  Honour.    He 
died  30th  May,  1832. 

2ft  OKaltnr  Scott 

Sir  Walter  Scott,  one  of  the  greatest   of  the 
poets,  the  Shakspeare  of  Scotland,  and  the  author 


1832.  ANKAL&  425 

of  the  Waverley  Novels^  died  at  Abbotsford,  Slst  Sep- 
tember^  1832.  This  distingoiBhed  man  was  bom  in  £d» 
inbnrgh.  in  the  third  -flat  of  an  old  honse  at  the  head  of 
the  College  Wjnd,  an  ancient  lane  on  the  north  side  of  the 
University,  15th  Aogost,  1771.  His&therwas arespectable 
Writer  to  the  Signet  In  his  fifth  year  he  went  to  his  grand* 
fatber^s  at  Sandy  Knowe,  near  Kelso.  In  October,  1779,  he 
entered  the  High  school,  and  while  prosecuting  his  studies 
there,  the  manning  of  the  Cowgate  Port  in  snow-ball  time 
formed  one  of  his  amusements,  as  it  afforded  a  safe  station  for 
the  boys  who  sent  tliese  missiles  after  the  passengers.  His 
father  removed  to  George  Square.  Scott,  though  a  lame 
boy,  engaged  in  weekly  bickers  with  his  juvenile  compeers  at 
the  Cross-causeway,  Bristo  Street,  and  the  Potterrow.  It  was 
then  he  engaged  with  a  doughty  plebeian  champion,  who 
went  by  the  name  of  Green  Breeks,  he  being  in  liveiy, 
and  this  soubriquet  derived  firom^the  said  portion  of  his 
dress.  He  became  a  student  at  the  University  in  1783, 
attended  Dngald  Stewart  in  1790;  two  years  after  he 
passed  Advocate.  At  the  time  of  the  Edinburgh  volun- 
teers he  became  Quarter-master  to  the  Light  Horse.  His 
first  appearance  as  a  poet  was  a  translation  firom  Burger  in 
1796.  He  married  Charlotte  Carpenter  in  1797,  and  took 
a  residence  at  108  George  Street,  second  flat.  He  became 
sheriff  of  Selkirkshire,  1799,  and  soon  after  took  a  summer 
cottage  near  Lasswade.  His  ^  Minstrelsy  of  the  Scottish 
Border'  appeared  in  1802.  He  afterwai'ds  removed  his 
residence  to  39  North  Castle  Street.  At  Ashiestiel,  on 
the  banks  of  the  Tweed,  he  composed  his  '  Lay  of  the  Last 
Miilstrel,'  which  was  published  in  1805.  He  was  appointed 
one  of  the  Principal  Clerks  of  Session  the  following  year. 
His  ^  Ballads '  appeared  the  same  year,  and  f  Marmion '  in 
1808,  ^  The  Lady  of  the  Lake*  two  years  after.  <  The  Lord 
of  the  Isles'  and  otlier  poems  followed,  till  in  1814  he  be- 
came the  great  and  favourite  novelist  of  modem  times,  by 
the  publication  of  ^  Waverley/  followed  by  a  long  series  of 


426  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

triumphantly  saccessful  works.  In  1827^ .  his  ^  Life  of 
Napoleon  Baonaparte'  appeared  in  nine  volomes.  He 
took  a  tour  to  the  Continent  for  his  health;  and  the  foaxth 
series  of  the  1  Tales  of  mj  Landlord/  the  youngest  child  of 
the  Waverley  family,  appeared  in  1831.  Sir  Walter  Scott 
was  buried  at  Dryburgh  Abbey. 

A  public  meeting  was  held  in  the  Assembly  Booms, 
George  Street,  5th  October,  1832,  to  make  arrangements 
for  erecting  a  monument  in  the  metropolis  of  Scotland  to 
the  memory  of  Sir  Walter  Scott, — the  Lord  Provost  in  the 
chair.  The  Duke  of  Buccleuch,  the  Lord  Advocate,  Francis 
Jefirey,  and  Professor  Wilson  were  the  principal  speakers. 
There  was  but  one  feeling  on  the  subject.  A  subscription 
was  immediately  entered  on  for  the  purpose. 

Sir  John  Leslie  was  bom  in  the  parish  of  Largo, 
in  Fife,  1766.  He  showed  an  early  taste  for  natural 
philosophy  and  mathematical  science,  and  in  his  juvenile 
years  was  a  good  deal  self-taught.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he 
was  qualified  to  join  the  senior  Mathematical  class  at  the 
University  of  St.  Andrews.  He  became  a  student  of  divinity 
at  Edinburgh  College  in  1784,  but  soon  after  abandoned  his 
theological  studies  for  private  teaching  and  the  pursuit  of  na- 
tural science.  His  discovery  of  the  differential  Thermometer 
attracted  considerable  attention.  His  Essay  on  Heat  was 
published  in  1804,  and  on  his  election  to  the  Mathematical 
chair  of  Edinburgh  University,  the  following  year,  a  note 
in  that  work  led  to  the  celebrated  Leslie  controversy,  of 
which  there  is  already  an  account  given  in  the  body  of  this 
history.  In  1819  he  was  appointed  to  the  Natural  Philosophy 
chair,  on  the  death  of  his  friend  Playfair.  In  the  Supple- 
ment to  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  he  published  his 
able  Dissertation  on  the  Progress  of  Mathematical  Science. 


1S32.  AKNALBw  427 

In  1833  he  was  honoured  with  knighthood  of  the  Onelphic 
order,  and  died  in  November  the  same  year.  In  person 
he  was  very  corpolent,  aiid  vanity  waa  one  of  his  weak 
points. 

On  the  death  of  Sir  John  Leslie,  in  November,  1832,  the 
Natural  Philosophy  chair  in  the  University  was  offered  to 
Sir  John  Herschel,  but  he  declined  it.  The  pnblic  feeling 
was  strong  that  it  should  then  be  proffered  to  Sir  David 
Brewster,  whose  name  ranked  foremost  in  that  department  of 
Philosophy.  The  Town  Council,  by  a  majority,  a  few  weeks 
after  elected  Mr.  James  D.  Forbes,  to  the  vacant  chair. 

The  election  of  two  members  for  the  city  of  Edinburgh  to 
the  first  parliament  summoned  luider  the  Keform  Bill,  com- 
menced 17th  December,  1832.  Instead  of  the  thirty-three 
civic  dignitaries  of  the  Town  Council  meeting  at  the  City 
Chambers  to  elect  the  solitaiy  member,  the  novel  spectacle 
presented  itself  of  public  hustings  at  the  Cross,  and  viva 
voce  proceedings  under  the  canopy  of  the  sky.  Sir  James 
Gibson  Craig  proposed  the  Lord  Advocate,  Jeffirey, 
seconded  by  Mr.  Wilkie,  Convener  of  the  Trades.  Sir 
Francis  Walker  Drummond  proposed  Mr.  Hunter  Blair, 
seconded  by  Sir  John  S.  Forbes.  Mr.  Adam  Black  pro- 
posed the  Hon.  James  Abercromby,  seconded  by  Mr.  An- 
drew Skene,  Advocate.  The  show  of  hands  was  in  favour 
of  Jeffirey  and  Abercromby,  but  Mr.  Hunter  Blair  demanding 
a  poll,  the  two  subsequent  days  were  devoted  to  that  pro- 
ceeding— -the  city  being  divided  into  electoral  districts,  and 
the  votes  separately  recorded.  The  Sheriff  of  the  county, 
on  21st  December,  officially  announced  the  result  of  the 
election: 

The  Lord  Adrooate  (Jeffirey),  4,058 
Hon.  James  Abexcromby,         8,865 

were  elected  members.  A  minority  of  1,519  voted  for  Mr. 
Hunter  Blair.  The  successful  candidates  returned  thanks  to 
their  constituents  fix)m  the  hustings,  and  a  splendid  pageant 


428  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

then  occtured,  chairing  the  honourable  members.  They  were 
placed  if)  a  car,  and  the  procession  proceeded  gaily  amid  a 
profosion  of  banners  to  the  house  of  the  Lord  Advocate,  in 
Moray  Place,  from  the  balcony  of  which  he  again  addressed 
his  friends. 


JTolii  eUv%  l^orD  Snftu 

John  Clerk,  Lord  Eldin,  was  bom  in  1757.  ap 

1832  __ 

prenticed  to  a  Writer  to  the  Signet  in  1775,  and 
passed  Advocate  ten  years  thereafter.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  talented  and  whimsical  characters  in  Edinburgh.  Not 
a  person  there  but  knew  him,  and  by  no  other  designation 
or  name  than  that  of  John  Clerk.  He  attained  the  most 
extensive  practice  at  the  Scottish  bar,  and  was  in  the  habit  of 
addressing  the  judges  with  as  much  ease  and  homeliness  as 
if  conversing  at  his  own  fireside.  Henry  Cockbum's  de- 
lineation of  him*  is  one  of  the  most  felicitous  sketches 
ever  penned. 

John  Clerk  was  raised  to  the  bench  in  1823,  and  died  at 
his  house  in  Picardy  Place,  in  1832. 

A  meetinir  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  in  St 

1833< 

Andrew's  church,  8th  January,  1833,  to  hear  an 
account  of  the  progress  made  by  the  Christian  and  inde- 
pendent colony  of  Liberia, — ^Lord  Moncreiff  in  the  chair. 
Hia  lordship  stated  that  Liberia  is  situated  on  the  south-west 
coast  of  Africa.  It  extends  about  two  hundred  miles,  and  is 
a  negro  colony,  the  object  being  to  show  that  that  race  are 
endowed  with  all  the  capacities  necessary  for  advancing  in 
knowledge  and  the  arts  of  civilized  life.  They  have  churches 
and  schools,  live  in  peace  and  amity  together,  cultivating 
the  soil — and  the  banner  of  the  slave  trade  has  been  replaced 
by  the  banner  of  the   Cross.    Monrovia,  the  capital  of 

*  Cockbnrn's  Life  of  Lord  Jeffirey,  vol.  i.  p.  200.^A.  and  C  Black. 
1852. 


1838.  AKNAL8.  429 

Liberia,  has  2,800  inhabitants.  A  prime  object  of  the 
colony  was  to  incorporate  with  its  inhabitants  the  emanci* 
pated  slaves  from  the  southern  provinces  of  the  United 
States. — ^Francis  Jeffirej,  Lord  Advocate,  and  John  A. 
Murray,  also  addressed  the  meeting. 

An  extraordinai^  accident  occurred  in  Picardy  Place,  at 
the  house  of  the  late  John  Clerk,  Lord  Eldin,  on  16th 
March,  1833. — The  sale  of  his  famous  collection  of  pictures 
was  proceeding  by  auction,  when  the  floor  of  the  room  sud* 
denly  gave  way,  and  nearly  one  hundred  persons  were  pre- 
cipitated  into  the  apartment  below,  where  they  were  in  great 
danger  of  perishing  from  suffocation,  but  were  fortunately 
speedily  relieved.  Mr.  Alexander  Smith,  banker,  son  of  a 
late  Lord  Provost  of  Edinburgh,  was  killed,  and  several 
other  individuals  seriously  injured. 

Few  local  subjects  have  excited  such  unpleasant  feelings 
in  Edinburgh  as  the  Annuity  Tax,  an  anomalous  mode  by 
which  the  city  clergy  of  the  Established  church  have  long 
been  paid  their  stipend.  It  consists  of  a  tax  of  six  per  cent, 
levied  on  all  property  in  the  city, — and  fix)m  this  impost, 
advocates,  writers  to  the  signet,  and  other  members  of 
the  College  of  Justice,  are  exempted.  In  1833  the  Lord 
Advocate  (Francis  Jeffrey)  proposed  a  BiU,  which  he  could 
have  carried;  to  do  away  with  this  exemption  of  the  law 
bodies,  but  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  in  tlie 
Waterloo  Rooms,  21st  June,  when  it  was  agreed  to  petition 
Parliament  for  the  total  repeal  of  the  tax. — The  difficulty  of 
accomplishing  this  object  lay  in  supplying  other  means  for 
paying  the  clergy,  and  for  this,  various  plans  had  been  sug- 
gested, but  so  complicated  ai*e  the  interests  involved,  that 
the  citizens  have  never  yet  obtained  an  act  of  Parliament, 
either  to  modify  or  abolish  tliis  odious  tax,  as  it  brings  the 
interests  of  the  clergy  into  disagreeable  collision  with  the 
people.  Many  of  the  citizens  adopted  a  system  of  passive 
resistance, — some  from  religious  scruples,  and  others  main- 


430  HISTORY  OF  EIXIKBURGH. 

tuning  thtl  the  last  enactment  regarding  it^  was  irr^ularij 
or  illegally  obtained. 

The  foUowing  maj  be  given  as  a  specimen  of  the  rate  of 
local  and  state  taxation  at  this  time,  in  Edinburgh.  On  a 
dwelling-honse  rated  at  £32  per  annum: 

Police  Assessment,  Is.  dd.  9  £.,  .    £1     17     6 

Boad  Money,  0    10     0 

Land  Tax,     .  .048 

Annuity  Tax,  and  Impost,  1     12    8 

Poors  Bate  or  Assessment,  .18    0 

City  Improvements'  Tax,                          .  0     18    0 

Bridewell  Assessment,  .012 

House  Duty,  3     12     0 

Window  Tax,  .10     0 

Cholera  Assessment,  12    6 

Mob  Money,  .       0     10    0 


£12 
Again,  on  a  place  of  business  rated  at  £170: 

Police  Assessment,                                           .     £8 
Annuity  Tax  and  Impost,                                       9 
Poors  Bate  or  Assessment,                               .8 
City  Improvements'  Tax,                                         1 
Cholera  Assessment,                                        .6 

16 

10 
10 

3 
14 

7 

6 

0 
0 
0 
0 
6 

£34      4    6 

But  it  is  to  be  observed  that  these  include  two  extra- 
ordinary assessments — Cholera  and  Mob  Money;  and  that 
the  City  Improvements*  Tax  existed  only  for  a  limited  num- 
ber of  years. 

The  system  of  resisting  the  payment  of  the  Annuity  Tax 
was  carried  so  far  at  this  period,  that  on  10th  Augost,  1833, 
Mr.  William  Tait,  the  proprietor  and  publisher  of  Tait's 
Magazine,  was  arrested  for  ]*eiusing  payment  of  the  tax,  and 
was  lodged  in  the  Calton  jail;  but  after  three  days'  confine- 
ment, he  paid  the  tax,  and  was  liberated.^-His  friends,  who 
viewed  him  as  a  martyr,  getting  up  a  procession  on  the 
occasion,  conveyed  him  in  a  carriage  drawn  by  four  horses. 


1888.  ANNALB.  431 

to  his  own  house,  where  they  gave  three  cheers  for  the  King 
and  three  cheers  for  Mr.  Tait  I  So  much  interest- did  this 
occorrence  excite  in  Edinburgh^  that  the  Scotsman  news- 
paper had  the  following  special  notice  on  the  occasion: 
'^  Annuity  Tax. — We  have  stopped  the  press  to  announce 
the  fact,  that  our  public^pirited  townsman,  William  Tait, 
£sq^  bookseller,  was  this  morning  incarcerated  in  the  Cal- 
ton  jail  for  non-payment  of  this  obnoxious  tax.** 

In  the  course  of  the  year  1833,  the  Town  Council  had 
their  attention  specially  called  to  ^the  state  of  the  clifs  pe- 
cuniary affairs,  and  the  result  of  many  preliminary  consulta- 
tions was,  that  a  Bill  was  brought  into  Parhament,  and 
passed  in  the  month  of  August,  entitled^' An  Act  to  Ap- 
point Trustees  for  the  Creditors  of  the  city  of  Edinburgh," 
whereby  six  gentlemen  were  nominated  as  trustees,  and  two 
others  were  appointed  to  be  chosen  by  the  creditors  them- 
selves. Tl)e  principal  debt  due  by  the  city  was  £265,000 
borrowed  firom  government  for  the  improvement  of  Leith 
harbour  and  docks,  and  for  which  the  rates  and  duties  arising 
from  the  said  harbour  and  docks  had  been  assigned  as  se- 
curity,— the  other  debts  of  the  city  were  chiefly  constituted 
by  sums  of  money  borrowed  and  taken  up  at  interest  and  on 
annuity,  at  various  times;  for  these,  the  trustees  were  now 
authorised  to  issue  city  bonds  negotiable  by  endorsement, 
and  not  exceeding,  in  the  whole,  the  sum  of  £400,000. 

When  the  question  of  Parliamentary  Beform  was  carried, 
Burgh  Beform  might  be  said  to  follow  as  a  necessary  corol- 
lary from  it.  Accordingly,  in  1833,  a  bill  for  the  enfranchise- 
ment of  the  Scottish  burghs,  and  the  abolition  of  the  self- 
election  system  by  Town  Councils,  was  brought  into  Pailia- 
ment,  and  speedily  passed  tlie  Plouse  of  Commons.  At  the 
second  reading  in  the  House  of  Peers,  the  Lord  Chancellor, 
Brougham,  said  he  had  no  doubt  that  in  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury the  right  of  election  had  been  vested  in  the  burgage 
tenants,  and  that  though  the  act  of  1469  made  a  material 
change,  the  system  of  self-election  continued — the  only  sem- 


432  HI8T0BY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

blaiice  of  a  popular  election  was  that  of  the  Deacons  of  the 
Trades.  He  said  the  funds  of  the  Corporation  of  Edinburgh 
might  be  estimated  at  £52,000  a-jear.  The  Bill  received 
the  royal  assent  in  August^  1838,  and  the  first  public  meet- 
ing for  the  election  of  a  member  of  the  Town  Council  und^r 
the  new  act,  was  that  of  the  Ouildry  of  the  citj,  held  in  the 
Tron  church,  20th  September,  1833,  when  about  three 
handred  guild  brethren  assembled.  This  bodj  consisted  of 
nearly  one  thousand  members,  it  might  be  said  of  the  eUU 
of  the  citizens.  Their  powers  as  a  corporation  had  long 
been  allowed  to  fall  into  desuetude.  Yaiious  unsuccessful 
attempts  had  been  made  to  restore  them  in  1817-18.  Of 
these  proceedings  Mr.  Adam  Black  read  a  report,  and  this 
meeting  elected  J.  F.  M^arlane,  Esq.,  as  secretary  to  the 
Guildry,  and  at  a  subsequent  meeting  on  15th  October, 
John  Macfie,  Esq.,  was  elected  Dean  of  Guild,  being  the 
first-elected  representative  of  the  citizens,  at  the  board  of  the 
i*eforuied  Town  Council.  The  citj'  being  now  divided  into 
five  municipal  districts,  the  poll  or  popular  election  of  the 
members  of  the  new  Town  Council  took  place,  5th  Novem- 
ber, 1833.  They  afterwards  met  and  chose  from  their  num- 
ber the  Lord  Provost  and  Magistrates — and  Edinburgh 
quickly  settled  down  under  the  new  regime. 

The  electors  of  the  city  gave  a  public  dinner  to  their  two 
new  members,  Francis  Jeffrey,  Lord  Advocate,  and  the 
Hon.  James  Abercromby,  in  the  Waterloo  Rooms,  6th  No- 
vember, 1833 — Mr.  Adam  Black  in  the  chair.  Upwards  of 
three  hundred  were  present.  Jeffrey  and  Abercromby  ren- 
dered on  this  occasion  to  their  constituents  an  account  of 
their  stewardship  for  the  short  period  they  had  represented 
them  in  Parliament. 

3famtn  Ballaittsne* 

James  Ballantyne  was  bom  in  Kelso  1772,  where 

1833. 

he  started  the  Kelso  Mail  newspaper,  and  firom  his 


1834.  ANNAU3.  4SS 

provincial  press  gave  a  new  and  improved  tone  to  the  style  of 
printing  in  Scotland.  He  early  became  the  intimate  friend  of 
Sir  Walter  Scott,  and  printed  the  ^  Minstrelsy  of  the  Scottish 
Border.'  Ballantjne  removed  to  Edinburgh  in  1805,  where 
he  became  the  printer  of  all  the  works  of  his  distingaished 
friend,  the  author  of  Waverley.  On  the  occasion  of  each 
of  these  productions  being  published,  Ballantrne  gave  a 
dinner  at  his  house,  in  St.  John  Street,  to  a  distinguished 
circle,  which  occasionally  included  the  Duke  of  fiuccleuch, 
as  well  as  eminent  litterateurs.  Sir  Walter  Scott  became 
his  partner  in  tlie  Edinburgh  Printing  concern,  but  on  the 
misfortunes  of  Constable  and  Co.  in  1826,  his  firm  became 
insolvent.  Ballantyne  died  in  1833.  He  was  for  a  con- 
siderable period  Editor  of  the  Edinburgh  Weekly  Journal 
newspaper. 

&fx  moUasn  ttH^Uatl  BamuHstu. 

Sir  William  Macleod  Bannatvne  was  bom  in 

1833. 

1742,  passed  Advocate  in  1765.  Along  witli  Henry 
Mackenzie  and  other  Edinburgh  literati  of  the  day,  he  con- 
tributed both  to  the  Mirror  and  the  Lounger,  and  he  was 
one  of  the  original  institutors  of  the  Highland  Society  of 
Scotland.  He  was  promoted  to  the  bench  as  Lord  Bannatvne 
in  1799,  from  which  he  retii*ed  in  1823.  He  was  looked  on 
as  one  of  the  best  specimens  of  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school 
in  Edinburgh  society.  He  long  resided  at  Wliiteford  House, 
Canongate,  where  he  died  in  1833. 

Dr.  John  Inglis,  long  leader  of  the  Moderate 
party  in  the  Church  of  Scotland,  was  born  in  Perth- 
shire.   He  became  minister  of  Tibbermuir  in  1786,  and 
coUeague  in  the  New  Gr^friars,  Edinburgh,  to  Dr  Erskine, 

the  leader  of  the  other  party  in  the  Church  of  Scotland  in 

2  £ 


434  HI8TOET  OF  EDINBURGH. 

1799.  He  broagbt  out  an  able  volume  on  the  <  Evidences 
of  Christianity '  in  1880.  He  was  one  of  the  principal  ori- 
ginators of  the  Scottish  Missions  in  India — ^was  Moderator 
of  the  Oeneral  Assembly  in  1804,  and  died  2d  Jauoaiy, 
1834*  From  his  great  intellectual  power^  he  would  have 
made  a  distinguished  advocate  or  statesman.  Of  imagina- 
tion be  bad  almost  none — pure  ratiocination  was  his  forte. 
His  two  sons  are  John  Inglis,  late  Lord  Advocate,  and 
present  Dean  of  the  Faculty  of  Advocates,  and  Henry  M. 
Inglis,  W.  S. 

A  public  meeting  of  Dissenters  and  other  inhabi- 
tants opposed  to  Church  Establishments,  was  held 
19th  February,  1834,  in  Dr.  Peddie's  chapel,  Bristo  Street, 
— Mr.  Adam  Black  in  the  chair.  A  memorial  was  adopted 
to  Earl  Grey  and  other  members  of  Government,  praying 
for  the  separation  of  Church  and  State. 

A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  for  the  purpose  of  petitioning 
Parliament  for  the  abolition  of  the  Com  Laws,  was  held  in 
the  Cowgate  chapel,  14th  March,  1834, — the  Lord  Pro- 
vost, Spittal,  in  the  chair.  Resolutions  and  petitions  in 
favour  of  Free  Trade  were  unanimously  adopted. 

Another  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  in  the 
Waterloo  Rooms,  3d  April,  1834, — ^the  Lord  Provost  in 
the  chair.  The  object  was  to  petition  both  houses  of  Parlia- 
ment to  remove  all  the  civil  disabilities,  under  wbich  the 
Jews  laboured.    Petitions  to  tliat  effect  were  adopted. 

After  the  keen  struggle  for  Parliamentary  Reform,  in 
which  the  country  had  been  engaged,  and  the  triumph  of 
liberal-conservative  principles  of  government,  tbe  political 
position  of  an  intellectual  city  like  Edinburgh  was  con- 
sidered of  great  importance  to  the  stability  of  the  cabinet,  at 
the  head  of  which  Earl  Grey  was  placed,  and  two  such  men 
as  Jeffrey  and  Abercromby  having  been  chosen  by  over- 
whelming majorities  of  the  Edinburgh  constituency  as  their 
representatives  in  Parliament,  was  justly  held  as  strongly 


1834.  AKNAL&  435 

indicative  of  the  sapport  of  Scotland.  Conaeqaentlj,  when 
in  Ma  J}  1834,  Jeflrej  was  elevated  to  the  judicial  bench, 
the  utmost  anxiety  was  felt  regarding  the  choice  of  his  suc- 
cessor. The  Tories  were  determined  to  make  every  exer- 
tion to  obtain  one  of  the  seats,  and  started  Mr.  John  Lear- 
month,  the  late  Lord  Provost — ^the  Eadicals  brought  forward 
Mr.  James  Aytoun,  advocate.  The  Whigs  and  the  sup- 
porters of  the  existing  government  were  at  &alt  in  not 
having  fixed  on  anj  individuaL  Lord  B}Ton's  fellow  tra- 
veller, Sir  John  Cam  Hobhouse,  had  been  rejected  for 
Westminster,  and  the  government  officials  were  in  favour  of 
adopting  him  as  their  candidate.  Sir  John  Campbell,  the 
son  of  a  Scottish  clergyman,  who  had  climbed  the  ladder  of 
fortune  by  his  own  talents  and  industry — ^first,  as  a  parlia- 
mentary reporter,  and  then  as  an  English  barrister,  till  he 
had  now  attained  the  high  position  of  Attorney  General, 
and  been  the  legal  adviser  of  government  on  the  Beform 
Bill, — ^had  recently  lost  his  election  at  Dudley— ^s  official 
friends  were  afraid  to  start  him  for  Edinburgh,  considering 
that  a  second  defeat  there  might  be  seriously  damaging  to 
the  ministxy.  Considerable  discussion  arose  on  this  subject 
at  a  meeting  held  in  Merchants  Hall,  12th  May,  1834. 
Those  who  were  in  favour  of  Campbell,  were  lefl  in  a  small 
minority;  and  Hobhouse  was  requested  to  come  forward. 
He  declined  the  invitation;  and  this  greatly  increased  the 
anxiety  of  the  government  party,  who  were  tremulous  about 
being  able  to  carry  Campbell,  and  seriously  proposed  to 
leave  the  election  to  a  contest  between  the  Tories  and  the 
Badicals.  At  a  smaller  meeting  held  in  the  Council  Cham- 
ber, on  15th  May,  the  Lord  Provost,  Spittal,  in  the  chair, 
Sir  Thomas  Dick  Lauder,  the  Solicitor  General,  Henry 
Cockbnm,  and  a  few  othei*s  present^— an  individual  well 
acquainted  with  the  political  feelings  of  the  citizens  presented 
a  vidimus  of  what  might  be  held  as  the  probable  result  of 
this  election  if  they  agreed,  as  he  urged  them,  to  adopt 
Campbell  as  tlieir  candidate.    It  was  as  follows: 


436  HisTORr  OF  Edinburgh. 


ATtoon, 

• 

700 

Laftrmunthf 

• 

1,600 

Campbell, 

• 

2,200 

4,400 

After  very  anxious  and  hesitating  deliberation,  Henry 
Cockbnrn  asking  in  his  naive  and  witty  style,  if  the  adviser 
would  guarantee  that  result* — Campbell  was  brought  for- 
ward* This  election  being  so  keenly  contested,  and  deemed 
of  such  vital  importance  to  the  existence  of  the  government, 
led  to  the  greatest  excitement  throughout  the  city,  and  the 
reports  of  the  state  of  the  poll  each  hour  were  anxiously 
waited  for  by  crowds.  The  result  of  first  day's  polling,  30th 
May,  was: 

Campbell,  1,554 

Leannonth,  .        1,229 

Aytoan,  423 

3,206 

The  second  and  final  day,  was  31st  May,  when  Campbell's 
election  was  carried  by  the  following  result  of  votes: 


Campbell, 

1,982 

Learmonth, 

1,402 

AytoQii, 

480 

8,814 

This  year,  the  representative  of  the  Sovereign,  Lord  Bel- 
haven,  at  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
instead  of  entertaining  the  members,  the  nobility,  and  gen- 
try at  dinner  daily,  during  the  sitting  of  the  Assembly,  at  a 
hotel — as  for  many  years  had  been  the  use  and  wont,  held 
these  official  entertainments  at  the  palace  of  Holyrood. 
This  arrangement  was  in  good  taste. 

John  Archibald  Murray,  a  well-known  and  popular  citi- 
zen of  Edinburgh,  succeeded  Francis  Jeffrey  as  Lord  Advo- 
cate, and  was  on  2d  June,  1834,  elected  representative  for 
Leith  in  Parliament. 

The  election  of  a  member  for  Edinburgh  was  scarcely 


1834.  ANNAUB.  437 

over,  when  a  new  election  was  rendered  necessaiy,  by  Mr. 
Abercromby's  becoming  a  member  of  the  cabinet,  having 
accepted  the  office  of  Master  of  the  Mint,  on  the  secession 
of  Mr.  Stanley,  (now  Earl  of  Derby,)  Sir  James  Graham, 
the  Earl  of  Ripon,  and  the  Duke  of  Richmond  from  the 
ministry,  they  having  objected  to  what  was  called  the  ap- 
propriation clause  of  the  surplus  funds  of  the  Irish  church 
Tor  tlie  education  of  the  people. — Mr.  Abercromby  Rgain 
offered  himself  as  a  candidate,  and  in  his  address  to  the 
electors,  said:  "I  should  deceive  you,  if  I  were  now  to 
state,  that  while  in  office  my  votes  would  on  all  occasions 
be  such  as  I  might  be  disposed  to  give  if  I  were  alto- 
gether unconnected  with  office.  Union  is  essential  to  the 
success  of  every  government,  and  no  man  who  acts  in 
concert  with  others,  can  expect  that  his  particular  opinion 
should  always  prevail.  I  could  not  T^ith  consistency  or 
honour  have  accepted  office  unless  I  entertained  a  confident 
and  conscientious  belief  that  the  measures  of  the  Adminis- 
tration will,  in  essential  points,  be  such  as  I  should  willingly 
have  supported  when  acting  as  a  Member  of  Parliament. 
If  my  expectations  as  to  the  measures  of  the  Ministers  shall 
be  realized,  my  means  of  usefulness  will  be  increased — ^if  I 
find  that  I  have  been  mistaken  or  too  sanguine  in  my  esti- 
mate of  their  future  conduct,  I  shall  be  ready  to  retire." 
The  nomination  took  place  23d  June,  1834,  when  Mr. 
Abercromby  was  unanimously  re-elected. 

A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  in  the  Waterloo 
Hotel,  15th  July,  1834, — Sir  David  Milne  in  the  chair, — ^for 
the  purpose  of  considering  the  propriety  of  the  formation  of 
a  deep-water  pier  at  Granton.  Now  that  steam  navigation 
was  becoming  so  universal,  a  great  want  of  low-water  wharves 
for  steam  vessels  was  felt  at  Leith.  If  the  inhabitants  of 
Edinburgh  were  in  favour  of  such  an  undertaking,  the 
Duke  of  Buccleuch  was  ready  to  come  forward  with  the 
large  funds  requisite  for  the  expense  attending  the  construc- 
tion of  a  pier  at  Granton. — The  meeting  was  in  favour  of 


438  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

the  plan,  and  after  the  lapse  of  ten  jears^  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  million  has  been  laid  oat  on  the  construction  of  the  ex- 
tensive works  at  Granton,  and  the  pier  and  harbour  tbere, 
have  been  found  of  great  advantage  to  the  Scotdsh^  me- 
tropolis. 

Some  excitement  occurred  in  the  city,  23d  Jvlyy  1834, 
by  the  extensive  private  banking  house  of  Kinnear,  Smitli, 
and  Co.,  unexpectedly  suspending  payment. — ^Their  debts 
were  £305,0009  and  the  assets  stated  to  be  £204,000.  This 
was  followed  the  succeeding  month  by  a  similar  catastrophe 
Imppening  with  Bobert  Allan  and  Son,  also  respectable 
bankers.  These  occurrences  might  be  said  almost  to  put  an 
end  to  private  banking  in  Edinburgh, — joint-stock  banks 
having  now  increased  and  afifording  additional  safety  to  the 
public. 

Earl  Grey  having  retired  from  public  life,  after  having 
been  at  the  helm  of  affairs  as  prime  minister  for  nearly  four 
years,  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  Waterloo  Hotel,  16th 
August,  1834,  to  invite  him  to  a  public  dinner  in  Edinburgh, 
as  an  expression  of  regard  for  his  services.  A  requisition  to 
that  effect  was  signed  by  upwards  of  seven  hundred  inhabi- 
tants, and  Lord  Grey  accepted  tlie  invitation.  The  attend- 
ance at  this  festival  was  expected  to  be  so  numerous,  that 
no  existing  building  seemed  equal  in  extent  to  the  occasion, 
therefore  Mr.  Thomas  Hamilton,  architect,  was  requested 
to  erect  a  temporary  pavilion  adjoining  the  High  School  for 
this  great  gathering. 

The  British  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science, 
was  formed  at  York  in  1831,  and  held  its  fourth  annual 
meeting  in  Edinburgh,  and  brought  a  considerable  influx 
of  strangers,  and  distinguished  literary  characters,  drawn 
partly  by  the  reputation  of  the  Modem  Athens,  and 
many  to  take  their  usual  place  at  the  meetings  of  this  emi- 
nent Institute.  The  Association  met,  8th  September, 
1834.  There  was  a  sort  of  literary  levee  at  the  Royal 
Institution  buildings  on  the  Mound  in  the  morning,  where 


1834.  AKNAL&  4ft9 

some  bondreds  were  assembled.  In  the  afternooO)  three 
bondred  of  the  members  dined  together  at  the  Hope- 
toon  Booms,  Queen  Street,  and  in  the  evening  the  first 
general  meeting  took  place  in  the  Assembly  Booms,  George 
Street.  Professor  Sedgwick,  a  man  of  genius  and  consider* 
able  oratorical  power,  the  president  of  the  former  year, 
addressed  the  assembly.  In  alluding  to  the  fame  which 
Edinburgh  had  attained  as  a  seat  of  learning  and  sdenoe, 
he  remarked  that  the  monuments  of  Bums,  Playfair,  and 
Stewart,  erected  since  he  last  had  visited  the  city,  he  viewed 
with  far  more  pleasure — memorials  as  they  were  of  peaceful 
triumphs — than  those  to  warriors  who  had  fought  the  battles 
of  their  countr}'^;  being  connected  neither  with  shrieks,  nor 
wailings,  heart-breakings,  or  blood.  He  then  vacated  the 
chair,  which  was  taken  by  Sir  Thomas  Brisbane,  the  pre- 
sident for  the  current  year.  Next  day  the  Town  Council 
presented  the  fireedom  of  tlie  city  to  four  distinguished  phi- 
losophers, who  had  arrived  to  attend  the  association — ^Arago, 
the  celebrated  French  astronomer,  Dr.  Dalton  from  Man- 
chester, Professor  Moll  of  Utrecht,  and  Dr.  Brown  of  Aber» 
deen.  On  that  day,  the  Association  divided  into  sections, 
and  met  at  the  University,  where  each  had  a  large  class-room 
appropriated  to  its  proceedings,  and  after  as  bosy  and  bust- 
ling a  week  among  the  savans  as  Edinburgh  had  ever  wit- 
nessed, the  last  meeting  of  the  Association  was  held  in  the 
College  Library  Hall,  on  13th  September,  when  Heniy 
Lord  Brougham,  Lord  High  Chancellor  of  England,  de- 
livered a  very  beautiful  oration  on  men  cultivating  the 
arts  of  peace,  probably  one  ^  the  finest  of  his  oratorical 
efforts,  he  said,  '^  Allow  me,  gentlemen,  to  detain  you  for  a 
moment,  to  say,  that  I  look  upon  this  as  one  of  the  most 
important,  perhaps  unquestionably,  of  all  the  benefits  this 
Association  is  calculated  to  bestow,  that  it  brings  together 
men  of  science  and  literature  from  every  quarter  of  the 
-world, — ^for  in  proportion  as  men  know  one  another,  they 
cultivate  the  more  frequent  habits  of  intercourse,  especially 


440  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBQH. 

if  their  intimacy  exists  on  groonds  so  mutnal  as  science,  fur 
thej  who  derote  themselves  to  science  are  of  no  coantry, 
and  over  them  the  angry  blast  and  tempest  of  war  rages  in* 
nocaoQS,  stamped  as  their  porsoits  are  with  the  greatest  of 
all  objects^  which  human  rulers  ought  to  have  in  view,  I 
mean  the  maintenance  of  peace  and  good  will  among  men. 
It  has  oftentimes  been  remarked,  that  war  is  a  game  at 
which,  if  people  were  wise,  governments  would  not  often 
play,  anrl  it  has  been  also  said  of  men  that  the  longer  they 
live^  they  feel  more  clearly  that  life  is  too  short  to  be  spent 
in  personal  strife;  so  the  world  has  got  too  old  and  expe- 
rienced to  bear  war.  There  is  no  duty  more  sacred  and  im- 
perative tlian  to  promote,  by  every  means,  that  peace  which 
ought  to  bind  the  great  family  of  mankind  in  all  its  depart- 
ments and  institutions." 

It  were  well  if  these  sentiments  were  impressed  on  the 
minds  of  eveiy  ruler  and  people  on  earth.  Then  wars  and 
rumours  of  wars  would  cease! 

At  the  receptiori  of  Earl  Grey,  15th  September,  1834, 
Edinburgh  presented  a  gay  and  crowded  appearance,  simi- 
lar to  the  King^s  visit  in  1822.  On  his  arrival  in  the  tore- 
noon,  accompanied  by  a  train  of  about  fifty  horsemen,  and 
numerous  private  carriages,  he  visited  the  Lord  Provost  at 
his  house  at  Newington.  He  then  went  to  the  Waterloo 
Hotel,  where  seventy  addresses  of  congratulation  were 
presented  to  him,  and  tlie  freedom  of  the  city  in  a  mag- 
nificent gold  box.  In  the  evening  the  grand  Grey  festival 
at  the  pavilion  took  place,  a  scene  from  its  extent  probably 
quite  unparalleled  in  Britain, — the  Earl  of  Rosebery  in  the 
chair.  Earl  Grey  on  his  right,  supported  by  the  Marquis 
of  Breadalbane,  the  Earl  of  Enrol  and  Lord  Lynedoch; 
and  on  his  left  the  Lord  Chancellor  (Brougham),  the  Lord 
Provost,  Count  Flahault,  and  the  Earl  of  Durham.  IJp^ 
wards  of  two  thousand  gentlemen  were  present,  and  a  gay 
display  of  ladies  in  the  gallery. — The  whole  afiFair  was  con- 
ducted in  the  most  splendid  style. 


1834.  AKKALS.  441 

William  Blackwood,  the  eminent  Edinborj^h  pub- 
lisher, was  bom  there  20th  December,  1776.  He 
was  an  apprentice  with  tlie  firm  of  Bell  and  Bradfute,  and 
became  femaoas  for  a  knowledge  of  old  books.  He  started 
his  Magazine  in  April,  1817;  and  though  Wilson  and 
Lockhart  were  the  chief  contributing  spirits,  Ebonj  him* 
self  always  acted  as  Editor.  He  was  a  man  of  activity 
and  good  abilities,  xliough  with  a  certain  brusquerie  of  man* 
ner.    He  died  16th  September,  1834. 

Thomas  Telford,  the  famous  engineer,  was  bom  in 
Dumfries-shire  1755,  of  humble  parentage.  When 
a  young  man  he  used  to  write  poetry  in  B.uddiman*s  Edin- 
burgh Weekly  Magazine.  He  went  to  London,  and  was 
employed  under  Sir  William  Chambers,  the  eminent  ar- 
chitect. His  name  became  immoitalized  by  his  great  en- 
gineering works.  Probably  the  Menai  bridge  was  the  greatest 
effort  of  his  genius;  by  it  the  mainland  was  connected  with 
the  island  of  Anglesea.  It  was  one  of  the  most  stupendous 
modern  undertakings.  The  Caledonian  Canal,  the  St. 
Catherine's  Docks  at  London,  and  his  Highland  roads  and 
bridges,  are  among  his  other  great  works.  He  died  in  Lon- 
don, September,  1834. 

A  meeting  of  the  rate-payers  of  Annuity  Tax  and  Poor's 
Money  was  held  in  St.  Andrews  church,  17th  October, 
1834, — the  Lord  Provost  in  tlie  chair, — when  resolutions 
were  adopted  in  favour  of  the  abolition  of  the  Annuity  Tax, 
and  of  the  exemption  of  the  College  of  Justice  irom  the 
Poors'  Money,  and  other  city  taxes. 

The  second  annual  election  of  Councillors  under  the 
Burgh  Beform  Act,  took  place  4th  November,  1834,  and 


442  HISTORY  OF  EDINBITBGH. 

excited  considerable  interest;  the  elections  hinging  rerj 
much  from  the  questions  agitated  at  the  time^  on  whether 
the  candidates  were  in  favotir  of  ecclesiastical  establishments, 
or  voloutaries, — the  latter  having  roused  a  keen  voluntary 
discussion  throughout  Scotland,  and  especially  in  Edinburgh, 
where  thej  were  anidous  to  obtain  a  majority  in  the  Town 
Council.  The  supporters  of  establishments  gained  partially, 
in  the  result  of  this  election. 

On  the  retirement  of  Earl  Grey,  in  July,  1834,  Yiacount 
Melbourne  became  prime  minister,  and  in  November  of  the 
same  year,  Lord  Melbourne  was  unexpectedly  dismissed, 
and  the  reins  of  government  placed  in  the  hands  of  tlie 
Duke  of  Wellington.  This  intelligence  excited  great  surprise 
in  Edinburgh,  and  a  numerous  meeting  of  the  inhabitants 
was  held  in  the  Grassmarket,  21st  November,  1834,  to  con- 
sider the  propriety  of  addressing  his  Majesty  on  the  subject 
of  the  change  of  ministry.  The  Lord  Provost  presided. 
An  address  to  the  King  was  adopted,  **  entreating  his  Majesty 
to  exclude  the  Duke  of  Wellington  from  his  councils,  and  to 
admit  to  them  none  but  men  determined  to  extirpate  every 
abuse,  and  thus  give* to  the  country  all  the  benefits  it  has  a 
right  to  expect  from  Reform  in  Parliament,  and  praying 
that  his  Majesty  would  be  pleased  to  assemble  Parliament 
without  delay,  in  order  to  take  its  advice  in  the  present 
momentous  and  alarming  state  of  public  affiurs/' 

Thomas    Pringle  was   bom   in    Boxburchshire, 

18S4.  n  7 

1789.  He  studied  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh, 
and  was  afterwards  employed  in  the  Register  House  in 
Edinburgh  on  the  public  records.  EQs  ^Poetic  Mirror' 
appeared  in  1816,  and  the  following  year  be  became  editor 
of  the  Edinburgh  Monthly  Magazine,  which,  from  some 
literary  squabbles  that  arose  connected  with  it,  led  to  the 
commencement  of  Blackwood's  Magazine,  and  he  then  be- 


1885.  ANKALS.  443 

cfane,.with  Mr.  Cleghom,  joint  editor  of  Constable^s  Mag»> 
zine,  and  of  the  Star  newspaper,  nis  ^Antamnal  Ex- 
cursion, or  Sketches  in  Teviotdale,'  was  published  in  1819. 
He  emigrated  to  Africa  in  1820,  and  had  charge  of  the 
government  library  at  Cape  Town.  In  1827  he  became 
secretary  to  the  Anti-Slavery  Society,  London.  His  ^  Afii- 
can  Sketches'  appeared  in  1834,  and  he  died  that  year 
in  London.  Bis  poetical  works,  with  a  life  by  Leitch 
Ritchie,  were  published  in  1839. 

The  Buke  of  Wellington  advised  the  King  to  commit  the 
formation  of  a  new  ministry  to  Sir  Kobert  Peel,  who  ac* 
cordingly  became  prime  minister,  and  on  29th  December, 
1834,  the  existing  Parliament  was  dissolved.  An  intensely 
keen  political  struggle  now  ensued  throughout  the  country. 
Mr.  Abercromby  and  Sir  John  Campbell  again  came  for- 
ward for  Edinburgh.  The  former,  in  his  address  to  the 
constituency  on  this  occasion,  said,  ^^  The  ministen  of  the 
Crown,  in  having  recourse  to  the  measure  of  dissoiation, 
have  given  unquestionable  proof  that  they  do  not  think  that 
the  opinions  which  they  profess,  and  the  measures  which 
they  intend  to  propose,  would  entitle  them  to  the  confidence 
and  support  of  the  present  House  of  Commons." — The  op- 
ponents of  these  gentlemen  were  Mr.  Learmonth  and  Lord 
Kamsay,  (the  present  Marquis  of  Dalhousie,  Governor  Gen- 
eral of  India,)  a  young  nobleman  of  considerable  ability  and 
business-talent.  The  election  took  place  14th  Janu- 
ary, 1835;  the  result  was  the  triumphant  return  of 
Abercromby  and  Campbell,  the  final  state  of  the  poll  being: 


Abercromby, 

• 

2,963 

Ounpbell, 

a 

2,866 

Bamsaj, 

• 

1,716 

Learmonth, 

a 

1,606 

At  the  meeting  of  the  new  Parliament,  the  first  great 
struggle  was  on  the  choice  of  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons.   The  Bight  Hon.  James  Abercromby,  the  member 


444  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

for  Edinburgh,  was  proposed  against  Sir  Charles  Manners 
Sutton,  the  ministerial  candidate.  Great  anxiety  was  felt 
about  the  result,  and  there  rarely  had  been  such  a  full  at- 
tendance of  members  of  the  House  of  Commons  as  at  this 
election,  19th  February,  1835. .  The  numbers  on  the  divi- 
sion were: 

For  Mr.  Abercromby,  .        316 

For  Sir  C.  M.  Sutton,  .  806 

616 

Mr.  Abercromby  was  then  installed  at  the  head  of  the  Com- 
mons of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  The  citizens  of  Edin- 
burgh, it  need  scarcely  be  remarked^  were  gratified  to  see 
their  choice  of  a  member  thus  ratified. 

A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  In  the  Waterloo 
Rooms,  9th  April,  1835,  when  the  following  resolutions 
were  adopted:  '^  Tliat  the  meeting  are  deeply  impressed  with 
the  justice  and  wisdom  of  the  resolutions  lately  passed  by 
tlie  House  of  Commons,  for  appropriating  the  surplus 
revenue  of  the  Irish  church  to  the  education  of  the  people 
of  Ireland;  and  as  his  Majesty's  consent  is  understood  to  be 
necessary  to  the  introduction  of  a  legislative  measure  to  that 
efiect,  that  an  humble  address  be  presented  to  his  Majesty, 
praying  him  not  only  to  give  his  gracious  sanction  to  the 
proposition,  but  to  call  to  his  councils  such  men  as  aie 
honestly  disposed  to  carry  that  and  other  liberal  measures  into 
efiect;  and  believing  that  the  late  resolution  of  the  House  of 
Commons  will,  if  fairly  acted  upon,  tend  to  promote  the  in- 
terests of  true  religion  in  Ireland,  and  thereby  to  secure  the 
peace  and  prosperity  of  that  distracted  country,  and  of  the 
empire  at  large;  agree  to  present  a  petition  to  the  House  of 
Commons,  praying  them  to  adopt  measures  without  delay, 
calculated  to  carrv  their  resolution  into  full  effect.*'  This 
question  was  agitating  the  House  of  Commons,  iand  the 
evening  prior  to  this  meeting,  Sir  Robert  Peel  announced 
to  the  House  that  he  and  his  colleagues  in  the  ministry, 


1885.  AKNAL6.  445 

imding  they  did  not  possess  the  conBdence  of  the  Hoase, 
had  resigned. 

The  question  of  the  amount  of  church  accommodation  at 
this  lime  in  Edinburgh  and  throughout  Scotland,  excited 
considerable  attention;  a  meeting  of  the  friends  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland-  favourable  to  church-extension,  was 
held  in  the  Assembly  Booms,  Greorge  Street,  15th  April, 
1835, — ^Lord  BeUiaven  in  tlie  chair,— and  a  counter  meet- 
ing was  held  in  Bose  Street  chapel  the  foUowing  day, 
of  the  Yolantaries,  and  those  opposed  to  any  further  grant 
from  the  national  iunds  for  tlie  purpose  of  endowing 
additional  places  of  worship  in  connexion  with  the  Esta- 
blished church,  each  adopting  strong  resolutions  on  the 
subject. 

Viscount  Melbourne  having  now  again  formed  a  ministry, 
and  Sir  John  Campbell  being  re-appointed  to  the  office  of 
Attorney-General,  he  had  to  go  through  the  ordeal  of  a  new 
election  for  Edinburgh,  and  on  30th  April,  1835,  he  was 
unanimously  re-elected. 

In  the  month  of  July,  1835,  the  citizens  of  Edinburgh 
proposed  again  to  invite  Lord  Brougham  to  a  public  enter- 
tainment, and  a  requisition  to  him  was  in  circulation,  couched 
in  the  following  terms:  ^'  My  Lord,  We,  the  undersigned, 
anxious  to  testify  our  deep  sense  of  your  zealous  and  splen- 
did efforts  in  the  cause  of  education — a  cause  identified  with 
the  best  and  highest  interests  of  mankind,  have  to  request 
that  your  lordship  will  favour  us  with  your  presence  at  a 
public  dinner,  to  be  held  in  this  city,  at  such  time  as  will  be 
most  suitable  to  your  lordship's  convenience. — ^We  have  the 
honour  to  be,  my  Lord." 

This  was  not  courting  favour  with  the  powers  that  be, 
for  at  this  period  Brougham  was  out  of  office,  but  it  seemed 
to  create  some  alarm  among  the  leading  Whig  politicians  of 
the  day,  for  they  urged  on  the  parties  who  were  arranging 
this  matter  to  withdraw  it  for  the  present,  as  it  might  em- 
barrass the  ministry— he  being  a  man  sui  generis^  they  could 


446  HISTORT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

not  depend  on  what  coone  he  might  ptmne  on  snch  an  oc- 
casion. These  persons,  however,  learned  that  the  feelings 
of  the  citizens  of  Edinbni^h  were  very  strong  in  favour  of 
Lord  Brougham,  and  that  two  thousand  respectable  names 
could  easily  have  been  obtained  to  the  requisition,  and  the 
object  was  not  political,  but  on  account  of  his  great  services 
in  the  cause  of  education. 

Edinburgh  at  this  time  seems  to  have  been  proud  of  her 
emancipated  political  condition,  for  on  the  House  of  Peers 
refusing  to  go  into  committee  on  the  English  Municipal 
Reform  Bill,  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  in  the 
Waterloo  Rooms,  12th  August,  1885, — ^the  Lord  Provost 
in  the  chair, — ^when  a  petition  was  adopted  to  the  Lords, 
urging  them  to  pass  the  Bill,  and  this  petition  was  signed 
by  17,636  persons. 

Thomas  M^Crie,  the  biographer  of  John  Knox, 
was  bom  at  Dunse,  November,  1772.  His  father 
was  a  manufacturer  there.  He  entered  the  University  of 
Edinburgh,  December,  1788,  where  he  was  delighted  with 
the  eloquence  of  Dugald  Stewart.  In  1791  he  taught  a 
school  at  Brechin,  where  he  used  to  amuse  himself  playing 
at  draughts  with  an  old  flax-dresser,  and  while  in  that  city 
he  joiiled  in  the  bond  for  renewing  the  National  Covenant 
of  Scotland,  and  the  Solemn  League  and  Covenant.  In 
1795  he  was  licensed  as  a  preacher,  and  became  minister  of 
the  Associate  congregation  in  the  Potterrow,  Edinburgh,  the 
following  year.  He  published,  in  concert  with  his  fnend 
Mr.  Whytock  of  Dalkeith,  a  Dialogue  on  Faith.  In  1810 
he  officiated  in  a  chapel  at  the  foot  of  Carrubbei^s  Close,  and 
three  years  afterwards  opened  the  Meeting*house  in  West 
Richmond  Street,  which  continued  the  place  of  his  pulpit 
ministrations  till  his  death.  He  became  editor  of  the 
Christian  Magazine  in  1806.    His  ^  Life  of  JBuaox '  appeared 


18S5.  ANNALS.  447 

in  November,  1811.  He  presented  the  great  Scottish  Re- 
former's character  in  a  new  and  true  light — Jeffrey,  with 
his  usual  discrimination,  saw  the  great  merit  of  the  work, 
and  hj  his  criticism  on  it  in  the  Edinburgh  Review  the  fol- 
lowing  year,  first  brought  M'Crie  fi*om  his  obscurity  into  a 
high  place  as  a  historian  in  the  public  eye,  and  the  Quarterly 
followed  in  the  same  wake.  In  1813  he  received  the  degree 
of  D.D.  from  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  At  the  request 
of  his  friend  Dr.  Andrew  Thomson,  he  reviewed  the  Tales 
of  my  Landlord  in  the  Christian  Instructor  in  1817,  and  his 
critique  on  them  made  a  great  sensation  in  Edinburgh,  and 
had  such  an  effect,  that  Sir  Walter  Scott  had  to  defend  his 
'  Old  Mortality '  in  an  elaborate  article  in  the  Quarterly 
Review.  His  ^Life  of  Andrew  Melville '  appeared  in  1819; 
his  '  Reformation  in  Italy  *  in  1827;  and  that  of  ^  Spain '  in 
1829.  He  was  preparing  a  Life  of  Calvin  at  the  time  of  bis 
death,  which  took  place  5th  August,  1835.  There  was  a 
public  funeral  from  his  house  at  Newington  to  the  Grey- 
friars  church-yard,  and  it  was  a  sublime  sight,  amid  all  the 
controversies  of  tlie  day,  to  see  every  class  paying  tribute  to 
so  excellent  a  character. 

The  Radical  party  in  Edinburgh  seem  to  have  been  a 
little  envious  of  the  grand  demonstration  held  by  the  friends 
of  Parliamentary  Reform  in  honour  of  Earl  Grey,  and  as  a 
sort  of  counterbalance,  they  mnted  Daniel  O'Connell,  M.P., 
the  great  Irish  agitator,  to  a  public  dinner,  which  took  place 
in  the  Hall  at  Tanfield,  Canoiimills,  17th  September,  1835. 
O'Connell  addressed  a  large  audience  from  hustings  erected 
on  the  Calton  Hill,  and  afterwards  the  banquet  took  place, 
— James  Aytoun,  advocate,  in  the  chair, — upwards  of 
1,400  persons  attending.  In  the  course  of  the  evening,  the 
agitator  alluded  to  the  lovely  physical  scene  that  Edin- 
burgh presented.  He  said — '^  Nature  never  spread  lovelier 
tints  than  I  saw  as  I  passed  my  eye  along  the  horizon  from 
the  Calton  Hill. — The  panorama  was  one  of  singular  beauty, 


448  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

— beyond  the  power  of  painting— for  no  painter  could  ever 
reflect  its  varied  and  striking  features:  your  two  cities  lay 
beneath  me,  marking  the  different  eras  in  your  history — ^the 
Old  city  with  the  fortress  built  to  defend  you  against  the 
incursions  of  your  southern  neigh  bonrs-^the  streets  and 
lanes,  narrow,  winding  and  unhealthy,  not  yet  purified  by 
the  cleanliness  of  modem  habits. — ^In  your  New  city  I  saw 
all  that  was  modem,  convenient,  and  beautiful — ^with  exten- 
sive streets  and  comfortable  footpaths;  and  containing  a 
]K)pulation  such  as  never  before  met  the  human  eye— com- 
fortable, manly,  and  stout — the  children  fat  and  well  clad! 
— Oh  I  what  a  contrast  between  tlie  civilization  of  the  mid- 
dle classes  at  the  present  day,  and  of  those  times  when  the 
proud  barons  rode  in  panoply  of  mail  over  your  streets,  and 
trampled  the  people  under  their  iron  hoofs. — That  ()eriod 
lias  gone  by  for  ever. — What  blessings  have  since  been  con- 
ferred upon  the  people,  and  still  remain  in  anticipaition  by 
the  amendment  of  their  institutions.  Your  close  corpora- 
tion has  disappeared,  and  you  now  appoint  your  own  jVIa- 
gistrates.** 

A  numerous  Anti-Popery  assemblage  was  held  in  St. 
Cuthbert's  church,  on  1st  October,  1835,  all  who  were 
friendly  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation  being  requested 
to  attend.  It  was  remarked  at  this  meeting  that  statements 
had  been  made  that  the  Protestant  Reformers  were  guilty 
of  persecution  as  well  as  Roman  Catholics,  but  this  was 
only  because  the  Reformers  had  not  been  able  altogether  to 
shake  off  the  Popish  spirit  in  which  they  had  been  educated. 
Resolutions  were  adopted  expressive  of  the  sense  entertained 
of  the  natui'e  and  tendency  of  Popeiy,  as  inconsistent  with 
the  Bible,  and  destructive  of  the  best  interests  of  mankind. 

A  matter  of  very  great  importance  was  brought  before 
the  governors  of  George  Heriot's  Hospital,  towards  the 
close  of  1835.  The  income  of  the  Hospital  was  now  nearly 
£15,000,  a  sum  beyond  any  thing  that  "  Jingling  Geordie  *' 
could  have  dreamed  of  at  the  time  of  his  splendid  bequest 


1836.  ANNALS.  449 

two  centuries  before— and  after  the  whole  ezpenditmte  of 
educating  and  maintaining  180  boys,  there  remained  an 
annual  anrplns  of  £3,000)  it  was  most  wiaelj  agreed  that 
this  ahoold  be  applied  to  the  erection  and  maintenance  of 
Greorge  Heriot's  daj  achoob  for  the  education  of  the  poorer 
classes  in  the  various  districts  of  the  city.  It  should  be 
mentioned  to  his  honour,  that  the  chief  originator  of  this 
plan  was  Duncan  McLaren,  Esq.,  who  since  then  has  filled 
the  civic  chair. 


gamn  UTogg. 

James  Hogg,  the  celebrated  Ettrick  Shepherd 
and  Scottish  poet,  was  bom  in  the  ancient  locality 
of  Ettrick  Forrest  in  1772,  where  his  father  then  fisrmed 
Ettrick  House  and  Ettrick  Hall.  Misfortunes  had  over^ 
taken  them,  and  without  any  education  further  than  to  read 
the  Bible,  Hogg,  when  only  six  years  of  age,  commenced 
life  first  as  cowherd  and  then  as  shepherd  to  different  Selkirk* 
shire  farmers.  He  came  to  Edinburgh  in  1801  with  some 
sheep,  but  being  unable  to  sell  them  all,  he  put  them  into  a 
park  till  the  following  Wednesday,  which  was  the  day  of  the 
weekly  bugJus  or  sheep  market  in  the  city.  To  pass  tl)e 
time  he  wrote  down  from  memory,  some  poems  he  had  com- 
posed, ^  and  gave  them  to  a  man  to  print"  A  thousand 
copies  were  thrown  off,  and  thus  commenced  his  literary 
career.  After  this  he  more  than  once  visited  the  Scottish 
Highlands,  and  was  about  to  settle  as  a  farmer  in  the  island 
of  Harris,  when  again  circumstances  intervened  to  prevent 
him.  His  ^  Mountain  Bard,*  consisting  of  ballads  and  songs, 
was  published  in  1807,  with  a  dedication  to  Sir  Walter 
Scott  and  a  memoir  of  his  own  life.  Among  these  songs 
was  the  celebrated  one,  Donald  McDonald.  In  1810  he  came 
to  Edinburgh,  and  resided  first  in  Ann  Street,  North  Bridge, 

then  with  his  kind  fiiend  John  Grrieve.    His  ^  Forest  Min- 

2  F 


450  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

strel^  appeared  at  that  time;  then  he  tried  a  fortnightly 
paper  called  ^  The  Spy.' 

His  great  poetical  work  on  which  hia  fame  chiefly  rests 
— ^^The  Qaeen's  Wake,'  appeared  in  1813,  founded  on 
Mary  Queen  of  Scots  holding  a  poetical  wake  at  Holy- 
roody  and  this  work  established  his  fame.  His  ballad  of 
'  Kilmeny '  in  it,  is  an  unique  production.  The  ^  Pilgrims 
of  the  Sun '  was  published  two  years  later,  and  ^  Mador 
of  the  Moor 'in  1816.  The  ^Poetic  Mirror,'  an  imita- 
tion of  the  liring  poets,  and  ^  The  Hunting  of  Badlewe '  fol- 
lowed. ^  The  Brownie  of  Bodsbeck '  was  published  in  1818, 
and  his  ^Jacobite  Relics 'soon  after;  his  ^Winter  Tales' 
in  1820.  The  Doke  of  Buccleach  gave  him  in  1815  a  small 
farm  at  Altrive  Lake,  in  ^  Yarrow's  classic  vale,'  where  he 
resided  many  years.  Wilson  and  Lockhart  gave  an  awk- 
ward celebrity  to  his  name,  by  introducing  him  in  the  dia- 
logues of  Noctes  Ambrosianse  in  Blackwood's  Magazine. 
His  ^  Queen  Hynde '  appeared  in  1824.  He  married  Miss 
Margaret  Philips  in  1820,  and  died  at  Altrive,  21st  Novem- 
ber, 1835. 

A  public  dinner  to  express  sympathy  with  the  refugees 
from  Poland,  and  in  aid  of  them,  was  held  in  the  Assembly 
Booms,  George  Street,  8th  December,  1835,-r-the  Marquis 
of  Breadalbane  in  the  chair, — ^Prince  Adam  Czartoriski  on 
his  right,  and  Lord  Dudley  C.  Stewart,  M.P.,  on  his  lef^ 
The  Prince,  on  this  occasion,  said,  ^^If  any  doubted  the 
reality  of  the  oppression  the  natives  of  Poland  had  suffered, 
he  thought  those  doubts  would  be  removed  by  reading  the 
recent  threats  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas  -to  the  Poles  at 
Warsaw.  But  the  Czar  had  acknowledged  that  they  were 
unable  to  submit  to  tyranny,  and  that  the  greatest  torments 
could  not  force  them  to  depart  from  their  duty  to  their 
country."  Upwards  of  three  hundred  gentlemen  were  pre- 
sent on  this  interesting  occasion. 

"  SamuitiA  fell,  anwept,  without  a  crime  I*' 


1886.  AKNAL6.  451 

Sir  JohD  Sindair,  the  editor  of  the  first  Statistical 
Aocount  of  Scotland,  was  bom  at  Thorso  1754,  and 
was  educated  at  the  High  School  of  £dinbnigh«  He  passed 
Advocate  in  1775,  and  five  years  afterwards  represented  his 
native  county  in  Parliament  He  commenced  his  great 
literary  undertaking,  the  Statistical  Account,  in  1791,  and  it 
was  completed  in  21  vols,  in  1798.  His  ^  Code  of  Agri- 
culture' was  published  in  1819.  He  was  a  stirring  and 
active  citizen  of  Edinburgh,  where  he  resided  nearly  a  quar- 
ter of  a  centuiy.    He  died  here  21st  December,  1835. 

A  numerous  meeting  of  inhabitants  was  held  in  the  As- 
sembly Rooms,  Greorge  Street,  23d  December,  1835, — ^the 
Marquis  of  Tweeddale  in  the  chair, — ^when  a  Protestant 
Association  was  formed  for  the  purpose  of  resisting  the 
errors  of  Popery. 

A  National  Security  Savings'  Bank,  a  very  valu* 
able  institution,  was  established  in  the  city  early  in 
1836.  The  object  was  to  secure  habits  of  industry  among 
the  people.  Deposits  of  not  less  than  one  shilling  received, 
and  not  more  than  thirty  pounds  in  one  year.  The  bene- 
ficial effects  of  this  Bank  have  been  fiilly  adequate  to  the 
expectations  that  were  entertained. 

A  meeting  was  held  of  tbe  Society  for  the  suppression  of 
Begging,  22d  Januaiy,  1836,  when  it  was  agreed  to 
amalgamate  it  with  the  Benevolent  and  Stranger's  Friend 
Society,  and  the  House  of  Befuge,  whose  objects  were  in 
some  respects  identical. 

Another  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  petitioning  parliament 
for  the  abolition  of  the  Annuity  Tax,  was  held  in  tbe  Cow- 
gate  Chapel,  12th  April,  1836.  Mr.  Gillon,  M.  P.,  in  the 
chair. 


452  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

Sir  William  Fettes,  a  late  Lord  Provost  of  Edin- 
burgh,  died  27th  May,  1836,  leaving  a  large  fortune 
to  build  an. hospital  for  poor  boys.  The  extent  of  these 
endowments  is  a  misfortune  to  Edinburgh,  inducing 
the  poor  to  relax  in  their  habits  of  industry,  A  public 
meeting  of  the  inhabitants  ought  to  be  called  to  endeavour 
to  get  this  large  sum  otherwise  allocated  by  act  of  parliament 
— ^for  an  Infirmary— an  Industrial  school,  or  for  the  Blind,  or 
Deaf  and  Dumb. 

A  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  in  Mer- 
chants' Hall,  29th  June,  1836,  to  petition  against  the  Scot- 
tish University  Bill  then  before  Parliament,  which  threatened 
to  transfer  the  patronage  of  Edinburgh  University  from  the 
Town  Council.  It  has  been  generally  found  that  when  such 
patronage  is  administered  by  the  Government,  political  feel- 
ing is  apt  to  influence  appointments,  and  when  by  a  Senatus 
Academicus  itself,  private  influence  often  prevails,  whereas 
in  the  case  of  a  body  like  the  Town  Council,  though  not 
learned  in  itself,  public  opinion  generally  exercises  its  influ- 
ence and  leads  to  the  appointment  of  the  most  distinguished 
men. 

In  July,  1836,  a  considerable  portion  of  the  Flodden 
Field  City  Wall,  which  was  20  feet  high  and  from  five  to  six 
feet  thick,  was  taken  down  from  opposite  Teviot  Row  and  that 
neighbourhood.  The  street  or  thoroughfare  there  was  before 
only  twenty-five  feet  wide,  and  it  was  now  made  sixty  feet, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  children  belonging  to  the  Charity 
Work-house  were  removed  from  that  locality,  and  lodged  in 
the  old  Orphan  Hospital  at  the  back  of  Shakspeare  Square, 
— ^the  children  of  the  Orphan  Hospital  being  now  accom- 
modated in  a  handsome  new  building  erected  from  a  plan 
by  Mr.  Thomas  Hamilton  in  the  Dean  park,  to  the  north- 
west of  the  city. 


1836.  AKNAIA  ^153 

A  public  dinner  was  given  to  Thomas  Campbell,  Esq., 

the  author  of  the  Pleasures  of  Hope,  on  5th  August,  1836, 

in  the  Hopetoun  Booms, — Professor  Wilson  in  the  chair. 

Two  hundred  and  fifty  gentlemen  were  present  on  this 

interesting  occasion,  which  happened  also  to  be  the  poet's 

birth-day,  having  that  day  completed  the  fifty-ninth  year  of 

his  age: 

"  BUmtmI  Hope,  in  thy  twMt  fudtos  grow 
Wroftthf  fur  each  toil,  *  ohaim  te  vnry  woe.** 

A  meeting  of  the  friends  of  the  cause  of  Church  extension 
as  prosecuted  by  the  Church  of  Scotland,  took  place  in  the 
Assembly  Booms,  George  Street,  19th  December,  1836, — 
the  Lord  Provost  in  the  chair.  After  various  eloquent 
speeches,  large  subscriptions  were  commenced  in  furtherance 
of  the  object. 

m 

0 

John  Grieve,  an  Edinburgh  citizen  of  refined  and 

1SS6 

literary  taste,  and  much  beloved  by  all  who  knew 
him,  was  bom  in  Ettrick  in  178^.  His  father  was  a  minister 
of  the  old  Presbyterian  and  Cameronian  school.  Grieve 
.wrote  some  fine  pieces  in  the  North  British  Magazine  in 
1804,  a  monthly  periodical  published  in  Edinburgh.  He 
was  one  c^  the  earliest  and  kindest  friends  of  the  Ettrick 
Shepherd.  Hogg  resided  with  him  in  his  house  at  Edin- 
burgh for  a  long  period,  as  he  mentions  in  bis  autobiography, 
without  being  allowed  to  spend. the  single  guinea  in  his 
pocket  which  was  then  all  the  fortune  he  had  in  the  world. 
In  the  Queen's  Wake  ^  the  Shepherd '  introduces  Grieve  as 
the  fourteenth  bard,  singing  ^^  Mary  Scott "  as  his  ballad. 
Hogg  describes  liim  as: 

"  The  bard  that  night  who  foremoft  came 
Wm  not  enrolled,  nor  known  his  name ; 
A  yoQth  he  was  of  manly  mould, 
Qentle  at  lamb,  as  lion  hold; 


454  mSTOBY  OF  EDINBUBOH. 

Bat  hii  fUr  ftoe,  and  forahaad  high 
GHowod  with  gonoiiM  modmrty. 
Twtm  said,  bf  bank  of  Soathland  stnam 
(Hided  fala  youth  in  soothing  dream; 
The  harp  he  lored,  and  wont  to  stray 
Far  to  the  wilds  and  woods  away. 
And  sing  to  hrooka  that  gargled  by 
Of  maiden's  form  and  maiden^s  eye ; 
"Diat  when  his  dream  of  yoath  was  past, 
Deep  in  the  shade  his  hsjrp  ho  oast; 
In  bosy  life  his  cares  begoiled. 
His  heart  was  tnie,  and  fortone  smiled.^' 

And  at  the  close  of  the  work  Hogg  thus  addresses  Grieve, 
acknowledging  his  deep  debt  of  gratitude  to  him,  for  in  fact 
the  Qaeen's  Wake  owed  its  existence  to  Orieve : 

^  Friend  of  the  bardi  peace  to  thy  heart; 
Long  hast  thou  acted  generoos  part. 
Long  hast  thoa  ooorteoosly  in  pain 
Attended  to  a  feeble  stnin, 
While  oft  abashed  has  sank  tiiine  eye,— 
Thy  task  is  done,  the  Wake  is  bye. 
I  saw  thy  fear,  I  knew  it  Jost; 
Twas  not  fbr  minstrels  long  in  dost, 
Bat  for  the  fond  and  Tentnroas  swain 
Who  dared  to  wake  these  notes  again.'' 

Orieve  wrote  some  rexy  fine  poems,  ^  CoUoden's  Lament,' 
^  Olengonai^s  Wassail/  and  others.  His  style  a  good  deal 
lesembled  that  of  Thomas  Campbell.  During  his  long 
residence  in  Edinbm^h,  he  was  the  centre  of  a  circle  of 
litenuy  men,  Professor  Wilson,  the  Ettrick  Shepherd,  and 
others  who  nsed  often  to  meet  at  his  residence.  Grieve  died 
in  1886. 

A  meetmg  of  the  inhabitants  took  place  in  the  Hope- 
tonn  Booms,  29th  January,  1887,  to  consider  the 
alarming  condition  of  the  population  in  the  Highlands  and 
Islands  of  Scotland, — ^the  Marquis  of  Huntly  in  the  chair. 
This  distress  in  the  Highlands  was  occasioned  by  the  failure  of 
the  crops  in  1835  and  1836.   The  population  was  overgrown. 


1887.  ANNALfi.  455 

and  by  the  almost  total  annihilation  of  the  manofactore  of 
kelp  and  the  failure  of  the  crops,  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  poor  were  in  danger  of  starvation.  A  liberal  subscrip- 
tion was  commenced  by  the  Highland  proprietors  and  others 
for  iheir  relief. 

King  William  IV.  died  20th  June,  ISST,  after  a  short 
bat  eventfiil  reign  of  seven  years. 


ANNALS. 


PARTY. 

FBOM  THE  ACCESSION  OF  QUEEN  YICTORU,  1887,  TO 

THE  TEAB  1860  INCLUSIVE. 


HISTOET  OF  EDINBURGH. 


PiltT  V. 

A  PUBLIC  procession  took  place  in  Edinburgh^ 
24th  Jnne,  1837,  on  the  prodamation  of  Qaeen 
Victoria,  as  Sovereign  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland*  The 
nsoal  arrangements  were  gone  throngh,  and  thereafter 
the  Lord  Provost  and  Magistrates,  with  a  large  parQr,  as- 
sembled in  the  Parliament  House,  to  wish  prosperity  to  this 
joong  and  popular  Sovereign  on  the  commencement  of  her 
reign. 

The  fourth  centenary  of  the  invention  of  Printing  was 
commemorated  bj  a  festival  held  in  the  Theatre  Boyal, 
12th  July,  1837,— Thomas  Campbell,  Esq.,  author  of  the 
'  Pleasures  of  Hope,'  presiding  on  the  occasion,  in  the  absence 
of  Lord  Jeffrey.  Upwards  of  fifteen  hundred  ladies  and 
gentlemen  were  present,  and  the  meeting  was  of  a  highly 
pleasing  and  intellectual  description. 

Parliament  having  been  dissolved  on  the  18th  July,  1837, 
a  new  election  for  the  city  took  place  on  the  26th,  when 
Mr.  Abercromby  and  Sir  John  Campbell  were  re-elected 
without  opposition,  and  in  the  evening,  a  public  entertain- 
ment was  given  to  them  in  the  Assembly  Booms,  by  their 
constituents, — ^the  Solicitor  Greneral,  Rutherford,  in  the  chair. 
After  the  busy  and  exciting  period  of  Parliamentary  Reform, 
it  was  agreeable  to  find  the  citizens  thus  returning  to  a  calm 
and  harmonious  state  on  political  affairs. 


460  HISTORY  OF  BDINBUBGH. 


Great  complaints  had  eziated  for  some  time  towards  the 
close  of  the  jear.  1837,  about  the  high  price  of  coal.  There 
seemed  to  be  a  combination  among  the  proprietors  of  the 
extensive  coal-fields  around  Edinburgh,  to  raise  the  price  of 
this  staple  commoditj.  A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  on  the 
subject  took  place  in  the  Waterloo  Booms,  27th  Octoberi 
1837, — the  Lord  Provost  in  the  chair.  Two  /ears  befon>> 
coal  was  sold  at  nine  shillings  per  ton,  of  which  the  price 
was  now  about  sixteen  shillings.  The  consumption  of  coal 
in  Edinburgh  amounted  to  300,000  tons  annually,  and  this 
rise  of  price  involved  an  additional  expenditure  of  nearly 
£100,000  per  annum  on  the  part  of  the  citizens.  The  mode 
adopted  by  the  meeting  to  remedy  this  state  of  matters,  was 
the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  receive  tenders  for  sup- 
plying coal  to  the  citizens,  and  it  was  ascertained  that  good 
English  coal  could  be  obtained  at  17s.  6d.  or  18s.  per  ton, 
equal  in  value  to  a  ton  and  a  half  of  the  Scottish  coal,  and 
the  English  coal  pits  were  deemed  quite  inexhaustible. — 
Coal  from  the  Earl  of  Elgin's  pits  near  Dunfermline,  it  was 
found,  could  be  obtained  at  ten  shillings  per  ton,  and  superior 
in  quality  to  the  Mid-Lothian  coal.  This  public  meeting 
accomplished  a  great  practical  boon  to  the  citizens  in  their 
household  economy. 

Sir  James  Spittal  demitted  the  office  of  Lord  Provoet  in 
November,  1837,  having  occupied  the  civic  chair  from 
the  passing  of  the  Burgh  Beform  Bill,  a  period  of  four  years, 
and  had  acted  in  such,  a  mOd  and  conciliatory  spirit  as  to 
propitiate  the  good  will  of  his  fellow-citizens.  On  10th 
November,  1837,  James  Forrest  of  Comiston  was  elected  his 
successor  as  Lord  Provost.  It  was  objected  to  hu  election 
at  that  period,  probably  with  some  truth,  that  he  had  pre- 
-viously  taken  no  part  in  the  management  of  the  municipal 
affidrs. 

The  Lord  Provost  called  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants,  in 
consequence  of  a  requisition.  This  meeting  was  held  in  the 
Waterloo  Booms,  6th  December,  1837, — the  chief  Magis- 


18S8.  ANKAIA  461 

trate  in  the  chair, — when,  after  considerable  coninnon  and 
varieties  of  opinion  expressed,  resolutions  were  adopted  for 
petitioning  Parliament  in  favour  of  the  system  of  voting  bj 
Ballot,  in  exercise  of  the  Psrliamentaiy  franchise,-— an 
alleged  system  of  intimidation  towards  electors  being  the 
ground  on  which  this  was  advocated, 

Bobert  Niooll,  a  young  Scottish  poet  of  some 
genius,  was  bom  in  Perthshire  1814,  For  a  time 
he  kept  a  drcnlating  library  in  Dundee.  His  Poems  and 
Lyrics  were  published  in  1835.  He  resided  for  a  consider- 
able period  in  Edinburgh.  He  was  for  a  short  period  edi- 
tor of  the  Leeds  Time^  but  returned  to  Edinburgh  in  bad 
health,  and  .died  in  1837,  in  the  house  of  Mr.  John  John- 
stone, Laverock  Bank,  in  the  suburbs  of  Edinburgh,  a  well- 
known  literary  character,  who  treated  him  with  great  kind- 
ness. 

The  era  of  Kailways  was  now  approaching. — ^The 
record  of  the  public  meetings  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Edinburgh,  presents  a  picture  of  the  prominent  topics  engag- 
ing the  attention  of  the  citizens  of  a  free  state;  and  exhibits 
<<  the  very  form  and  pressure  of  the  times,"  with  all  the  force 
and  vigour  of  a  living  dramatic  scene.— A  meeting  of  the 
inhabitants  was  held  in  the  Waterloo  Rooms,  26th  Janu- 
ary, 1838,  to  petition  Parliament  in  favour  of  a  Bill  then 
in  progress  for  constructing  a  railway  between  Edinburgh 
and  Glasgow — ^when  they  expressed  their  sense  of  the  great 
advantages  conferred  by  Railway  communication,  on  the 
agricultural,  manufacturing,  and  commercial  interests  of  the 
country. 

A  public  dinxier  was  given  to  William,  afterwards  Sir 
William,  Allan,  the  historical  painter,  in  the  Assembly 
Rooms,  on  9th  March,  1838,  on  lus  elevation  to  the  office  of 


462  mSTORT  OF  edinbubgh. 

President  of  the  Scottish  Academy^ — Sir  Thomas  Dick 
Lauder  in  the  chair.  Upwards  of  two  hundred  gentlemen 
attended  on  the  occasion. 

An  UltrarBadical  meeting  against  the  Canadian  War, 
was  held  in  the  Calton  Convening  Room,  3d  January,  ISSS, 
and  another  of  the  more  moderate  Eadicab  took  place  in  the 
Cowgate.Chapely  on  the  8th  January.  At  the  latter,  a  young 
barrister  stated  that  he  was  opposed  to  all  colonies,  as  a  drag 
on  the  industry  of  the  country,  and  that  when  such  a  laige 
colony  as  Canada  became  discontented,  he  would  leave  it  to 
itself  or  let  it  seek  protection  elsewhere;  and  the  chairman 
of  the  meeting  said,  there  was  no  rock  so  barren  that  the 
aristocracy  would  not  willingly  colonize  it  for  the  sake  of 
the  places. 

A  trial  commenced  in  the  High  Court  of  Justicixuy  on  3d 
January,  1838,  which  in  many  of  its  features  was  unpre- 
cedented in  the  history  of  Edinburgh  criminal  trials.  The 
pannels  were  five  Glasgow  cotton  spinners,  accused  of  be- 
longing to  an  illegal  association  having  secret  oaths;  and  en- 
gaging in  an  illegal  conspiracy  to  deter  their  fellow-workmen 
from  following  their  employment,  intimidating  them  by  acts 
of  violence;  and  various  other  crimes.  This  extraordinary 
trial  lasted  nine  days.  The  Lord  Justice  Clerk  took  fourteen 
hours  to  sum  up  the  evidence,  and  the  pannek  being  con- 
victed of  only  part  of  the  charges,  were  sentenced  to  seven 
years  transportation. 

A  snow-ball  riot  occurred  between  the  students  at  the 
College  and  the  police,  on  11th  and  12th  January,  1838. 
It  became  so  serious  that  the  magistrates  sent  to  the 
Castle  for  a  party  of  the  79th  regiment,  who  restored  quiet. 
This  affair  led  to  a  trial  of  five  of  the  students  in  the  Sherifi 
Court,  when  Mr.  Patrick  Robertson  made  a  long,  able,  and 
humorous  harangue  in  their  defence. 

Another  large  meeting  in  favour  of  Church  extension  was 
held  in  the  Assembly  Rooms,  George  Street,  27th  April, 
1838.     The  Lord  Provost  in  the  chair.     The  principal 


1888.  AlVNAlfi.  463 

speaker  on  this  occafion  was  the  Bev.  Thomas  Oathxie,  a 
bold,  originaL-muidedi  and  philanthropic  clergjinany  who  had 
been  brought  to  an  Edinburgh  church  the  prerions  year  from 
his  native  country,  Forfarshire.  He  was  followed  in  his 
eloquent  speech  by  Mr.  James  Moncrei£^  afterwards  Lord 
Advocate. 

The  day  of  Queen  Victoria's  coronation,  28th  June,  1888, 
was  kept  as  a  holiday  in  Edinbur^g^i— business  suspended,  the 
public  institutions  thrown  open,  and  the  opening  of  the  new 
pier  at  Granton  by  Lord  John  Scott,  the  brother  of  the 
Duke  of  Buccleuch,  drew  crowds  to  that  quarter.  There 
was  a  banquet  in  the  Assembly  Rooms  at  half-past  six 
o'clock, — the  Lord  Provost  presiding, — and  at  night  a 
magnificent  display  of  ib'eworks  from  the  Castle  and 
Calton-hill,  and  large  fires  blazed  on  the  top  of  Arthui^s 
Seat  and  Salisbury  Crags. 

An  Edinburgh  and  Leitb  agreement  Bill  was  passed 
by  which  the  separate  independence  of  eadi  of  these 
burghs  was  finally  accomplished  in  an  amicable  manner. 
The  fiiture  management  of  the  revenues  of  the  port  was  by 
this  act  vested  in  eleven  Commissioners,  five  to  be  nominated 
by  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury,  three  by  the  Town  Council 
of  Edinburgh,  and  three  by  the  Town  Council  of  Leith. 

This  new  act  of  Parliament  was  passed  27th  July,  1838, 
and  being  chiefly  anent  the  afiairs  of  the  city  of  Edinburgh, 
was  entitled  '^  An  Act  to  Begulate  and  Secure  the  Debt  due  by 
the  City  of  Edinburgh  to  the  public ;  to  confirm  an  Agree- 
ment between  the  said  City  and  its  Creditors,  and  to  efi'ect  a 
settlement  of  the  afiairs  of  the  said  City  and  the  Town  of 
Leidi."  It  brought  the  City  Trust  Act  to  an  end,  and  vested 
the  charge  of  watching  over  the  interests  of  the  creditors  in 
a  Committee  of  their  number,  and  enacted  that  the  whole  of 
the  City  debts  and  obligations  should  be  compounded  by  a 
perpetual  annuity  of  three  per  cent.,  redeemable  only  on 
payment  of  £100  for  every  three  pounds  sterling  of  annuity. 
The  debt  due  to  government  then  amounted  to  £228,374, 


464  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBOH. 


and  the  interest  and  sinking  ftuid  payable  npon  it,  in  1889, 
would  become  £12|750,  with  £1,000  additional,  applicable 
to  the  improFement  of  the  harbour. 

Mrs*  Fry,  the  celebrated  philanthropic  Quaker,  who  ac- 
complished so  mnch  for  the  education  of  the  neglected  classes 
of  society,  came  to  Edinburgh  in  September,  I8889  and 
visited  many  of  the  educational  institutions  and  the  prisons, 
where  her  presence  and  enquiries  tended  to  stimulate  the 
exertions  of  the  educationalists* 

fixn.  flfrastt  of  ILaggatu 

Mrs.  Grant  of  Laggan  was  bom  at  Glasgow  in 
1755.  Her  father^s  name  was  Macvicar,  and  when 
very  young  she  accompanied  him  with  his  regiment  to 
America.  Her  first  work  was  the  ^  Memoirs  of  an  American 
Lady.'  In.  1779,  she  married  the  Bev.  James  Grant, 
minister  of  Laggan,  in  Inverness-shire,  where  she  set  herself 
to  learn  the  language,  the  customs,  and  manners  of  the 
Scottish  Highlanders.  Her  husband  died  in  1801.  She 
removed  to  Stirling,  and  two  years  afterwards  a  volume 
of  poems  appeared,  and  her  celebrated  *  Letters  from  the 
Mountains,'  in  1806.  They  are  full  of  lively  sketches  of 
scenery  and  manners.  In  1810  she  became  a  residenter  in 
Edinburgh,  and  was  well  known  among  the  literary  circles 
there.  She  died  at  her  house,  Manor  Place,  7th  November, 
1838,  in  the  84th  year  of  her  age. 

Dr.  John  Jamieson,  the  Scottish  Lezicographer, 
was  bom  1758.  He  became  minister  of  the  Associate 
Synod  Congregation,  Nicolson  Street,  Edinburgh,  in  1797: 
He  published  a  variety  of  lucubrations  both  in  prose  and 
verse.  His  great  work,  ^  The  Etymological  Dictionary  of 
the  Scottish  Language,'  appeared  in  two  volumes  4to,  in 


1839.  AKNAL8.  465 

■ 

1810,  and  it  may  be  said  that  the  three  men  who  have 
chiefly  kept  alive  the  Scottish  language  were  Robert  Boms, 
Dr.  Jamieson,  and  Sir  Walter  Scott.  To  his  Dictionaiy 
he  prefixed  a  Dissertation  on  the  origin  of  the  language. 
^  The  Historical  account  of  the  andent  Culdees,'  appeared  in 

1811,  and  his '  Views  of  the  BjojbI  Palaces  of  Scotland,  with 
Historical  and  Topographical  illustrations,'  in  1828.  He 
died  in  1838. 


David  Hume,  one  of  the  Barons  of  Exchequer, 
and  nephew  of  the  celebrated  Historian,  was  bom  in 
1756,  and  after  a  legal  education  in  Edinburgh,  successively 
became  Professor  of  Scots  Law  in  the  University  there. 
Principal  Clerk  of  Session,  and  one  of  the  Barons  of  Ex- 
chequer. His  Commentaries  on  the  Criminal  Law  of  Scot- 
land were  published  in  1797,  and  became  a  standard  pro- 
fessional work.    Baron  Hume  died  in  1838. 

A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  to  petition  parlia- 

1839.  -  r  r 

ment  for  a  repeal  of  the  Com  Laws,  was  held  in  the 
Waterloo  Rooms,  21st  Januazy,  1839, — the  Lord  Provost, 
Sir  James  Forrest,  in  the  chair.  An  argument  used  on  this 
occasion,  was  that  tlie  comparative  low  price  of  food  on  the 
Continent  led  to  the  establishment  of  manufactures  there  in 
a  way  injurious  to  Britain.  This  was  embodied  in  the 
following  resolution : — "  That  the  cliief  cause  of  the  rapid 
and  successful  progress  of  foreign  manufactures,  is  the  low 
price  of  food  abroad,  compared  with  its  cost  in  this  country; 
that  the  high  price  of  food  in  Britain,  occasioned  by  the  laws 
against  the  importation  of  corn  and  other  articles  of  subsist- 
ence, inflicts  severe  suffering  on  the  industrious  classes,  not 
only  by  the  great  proportion  of  their  savings  it  absorbs,  but 
also  by  lessening  the  demand  for  labour  on  the  part  of  our 

manufacturers,   and    thereby  loweriiii;  wages;    and  that, 

2  G 


466  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

unless  these  laws  be  speedOy  repealed,  onr  trade  and  mann- 
iactnres  must  be  seriously  injured,  and  the  sufferings  of  the 
industrious  classes  still  further  increased.** 

This  meeting  was  disturbed  by  the  Chartists  or  uniTersal 
suffrage  men,  who  wished  to  adjourn  to  the  Calton-hill,  and 
introduce  some  of  their  extraneous  topics. 

The  Right  Hon..  William  Adam  was  the  son 
of  the  architect,  Adam  of  Blair  Adam,  and  was 
bom  in  1751.  He  received  part  of  his  education  in  Edin- 
burgh, and  passed  Advocate  in  1773,  and  the  following  jear 
became  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons.  He  engaged 
in  a  duel  with  Fox,  and  became  a  conspicuous  man  in 
political  affairs.  In  1816,  when  jury  trial  in  civil  cases  was 
instituted  in  Scotland,  he  was  appointed  Lord  Chief  Com- 
missioner of  the  Jury  Court,  and  it  became  a  bon-mot  of 
the  day,  that  the  Jury  Court  was  like  the  garden  of  Eden, 
because  it  was  made  for  Adam,  He  died  at  his  house  in 
Charlotte  Square,  17th  January,  1839. 

A  meeting  on  the  subject  of  sanitary  improvements 
around  Edinburgh,  was  held  in  the  Canongate  Church  22d 
April,  1889.  It  was  stated  that  between  Arthur^s  Seat  and 
Croft-an-Righ  near  Holyrood,  from  400  to  600  acres  of 
ground  were  lying  in  an  unhealthy  state  and  in  an  undrained 
condition,  and  it  was  agreed  that  representations  should  be 
made  to  the  Commissioners  of  Woods  and  Forests,  to  have 
this  remedied,  andf  the  palace  of  Holyrood  and  the  neigh- 
bourhood put  in  a  condition  fit  for  the  residence  of  the 
sovereign. 

A  vacancy  took  place  in  the  representation  of  the  city  by 
Mr.  Abercromby  having  resigned  the  speakership  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  being  elevated  to  the  peerage  as 
Lord  Dunfermline.    Thomas  Babington  Macaulay,  a  distin- 


1889.  ANNALS.  467 

gttiahed  and  eloquent  writer^  was  bronght  forward  as  a  candi- 
date. He  addressed  a  pnblic  meeting  of  the  electors  in  George 
Street  Assembly  Booms,  29th  May ,, and  so  popular  was  the 
choice  that  he  was  nnanimonsly  elected,  4th  June,  1839, 
one  of  the  members  for  the  ^  great  ancient  and  illustrious 
citj  *'  of  Edinburgh,  as  he  styled  it  in  his  letter  of  thanks. 

A  new  Gas  Company  was  established  in  Edinbui^^h, 
15th  March,  1839,  with  a  capital  of  £100,000.  This  com- 
pany, after  some  uegodations,  purchased  the  Leith  Gas 
Works,  and  obtained  an  act  of  Parliament  under  the  designa- 
tion  of  the  Edinburgh  and  Leith  Gas  Co. 

After  the  settlement  of  the  question  of  Parliamentary 
Beform,  the  idea  very  naturally  prevailed  tliat  if  the  people 
wei*e  allowed  to  elect  their  representatives  in  parliament,  tliey 
should  have  the  choice  of  their  own  clergymen.  Accordingly 
in  1834,  the  Church  of  Scotland  passed  what  was  called  the 
veto  aety  to  prevent  any  pastor  being  intruded  on  congrega- 
tions contrary  to  the  will  of  the  people.  The  legality  of 
this  enactment  was  disallowed  in  the  civil  courts,  and  an 
unfortunate  coUision  thus  arose  between  the  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  judicatories  in  Scotland.  Patronage  again 
was  a  bone  of  contention,  and  in  the  meantime  ^Hhe 
non*iutrusionists,^  became  the  name  and  designation  of  a 
numerous  body  of  tlie  people.  A  public  meeting  on  the 
subject  was  held  in  the  Assembly  Rooms,  George  Street, 
19th  June,  1839.  It  was  called  by  the  Lord  Provost,  who 
presided,  on  the  requisition  of  upwards  of  five  hundred 
citizens,  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  attachment  to  the 
principles  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  and  to  the  ec- 
clesiastical fireedom  of  her  people;  and  to  consider  the 
propriety,  in  her  present  circumstances,  of  applying  for  the 
interference  of  the  legislatu]*e,  to  prevent  the  intrusion  of 
unacceptable  ministers  into  her  congregations.  Great  agita- 
tion and  excitement  had  prevailed,  and  strong  resolutions 
were  passed  by  the  meeting. 

A  meeting  called  on  the  requisition  of  about  three  hundred 


468  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

citizens  was  held,  8th  Jalj,  1839,  on  the  subject  of  national 
edocationi — ^Dr.  Mnir  in  the  chair— when  resolutions  were 
passed  against  any  system  which  did  not  combine  religions 
with  secular  instruction. 

The  Earl  of  Eglintoun  got  up  a  grand  tournament  in  the 
style  of  the  days  of  ancient  chivalry^  at  his  Castle  of  Eglin- 
toun in  Ayrshire,  on  28th  and  30th  Angast,  1839.  A  con- 
siderable number  of  Edinburgh  citizens  wended  their  way 
to  this  ^^  peaceM  passage  of  arms/'  Among  the  remarkable 
characters  they  found  there,  was  Prince  Louis  Napoleon,  the 
present  Emperor  of  France. 

A  meeting  was  held  in  the  Merchant's  Hall,  17th  July, 
1839,  on  the  subject  of  establishing  a  penny  postage  over 
the  entire  kingdom.  The  adoption  of  this  proposal  may  be 
considered  one  of  the  greatest  boons  to  the  social  and  do- 
mestic affections  which  these  days  of  Seform  have  contem- 
plated or  accomplished. — It  commenced  from  10th  Janu- 
ary, 1840. 

The  shock  of  an  earthquake  was  felt  in  the  east  end  of 
the  New  town  of  Edinburgh,  on  the  night  of  23d  October, 
1839. 

In  1839  a  Bible  Board  was  established  in  Edinburgh  by 
goyemment,  to  superintend  the  printing  of  correct  editions 
of  the  Bible  in  Scotland.  Previous  to  this  salutary  arrange- 
ment, the  printing  of  the  Scriptures  was  a  monopoly  held  by 
individuals  by  patent  from  the  Crown.  Dr.  Welsh  was 
appointed  secretary  to  the  board.  The  Lord  Advocate, 
Rutheriurd,  was  a  principal  person  in  bringing  this  change : 
Bibles  now  becoming  greatly  lower  in  price,  while  the  cor- 
rectness of  the  text  was  secured. 

A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  in  the  Hopetoun 
Rooms,  24th  December,  1839, — the  Lord  Provost  in  the 
chair, — when  after  several  eloquent  speeches,  it  was  agreed 
to  erect  an  equestrian  statue  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  in 
Edinburgh. 


1840.  JINNAUB.  469 


The  Bev.  Archibald  AliBon,  the  celebrated  author 


18d9« 

of  the  Essays  on  Taste,  was  bom  in  1758.  He 
studied  first  at  the  University  of  Glasgow,  and  then  at 
Baliol  College,  Oxford.  He  was  married  to  a  sister  of  the 
eminent  physician  Dr.  Gregory,  at  Edinburgh,  in  1 784.  He 
long  officiated  as  senior  minister  of  the  Episcopal  chapel, 
Cowgate,  in  Edinburgh,  and  on  the  erection  of  St.  Paul's 
chapel,  York  Place,  he  became  clergyman  there.  His 
essays  on  the  '  Nature  and  Principles  of  Taste  *  were  pub- 
lished in  1790.  His  views  regarding  his  philosophy  of 
taste  coincide  very  much  with  those  of  Jeffrey.  As  a 
clergyman  he  was  distinguished  for  beautiful  and  chastened 
composition.  He  published  a  variety  of  Sermons.  He  died 
in  1839. 

Another  meetini;  of  the  inhabitants  was  held 

1840 

in  the  Waterloo  Booms,  7th  Januaiy,  1840,  to 
petition  for  the  Eepeal  of  the  -Com  Laws, — the  Liord  Pro- 
vost, Sir  James  Forrest,  in  the  chair.  The  good  order  of 
this  meeting  was  also  interrupted  by  the  Chartists  or  Uni- 
versal Sufirage  men,  who  sought  the  opportunity  of  any 
public  meeting,  however  foreign  to  the  object,  to  introduce 
their  views. 

The  same  evening  an  exhibition  of  a  new  kind  was  closed 
in  Edinburgh,  with  a  grand  dress  promenade  in  the  Assem- 
bly Booms,  after  having  been  a  fortnight  open  to  the  public. 
This  beautiful  and  useful  exhibition  comprised  a  display  of 
objects  of  art,  manufactures,  and  science.  Nothing  of  the 
kind  on  so  great  a  scale  had  ever  previously  taken  place  in 
Edinburgh,  and  it  brought  before  all  ranks  of  society  the 
most  beautiful  and  interesting  illustrations  of  the  progress  of 
art  and  science  in  Scotland.  The  children  of  the  various 
schools  in  the  city  and  neighbourhood  were  admitted  gra- 


470  HISTOBY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

tuitoualyi  and  they  saw  mnch  calculated  to  expand  the 
mind  with  oseful  knowledge. 

Thia  Eidiibition,  daring  the  short  period  it  was  open  to  the 
pablici  was  visited  by  upwards  of  fifty  thotuand  individaals. 

A  meeting  of  proprietors  and  all  who  took  an  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  the  Highlands  and  Islands  of  Scotland,  took  place 
in  the  Hopetoun  Rooma,  10th  January,  1840, — the  Duke  of 
Argyll  in  the  chair^-for  the  purpose  of  promoting  and  aiding 
an  extensive  emigration  of  the  Celtic  population  to  America. 
Two  hundred  thousand  people  had  been  saved  from  the  des- 
titution  tlireatened  by  the  fsdlure  of  the  crops  and  fisheries 
in  1886  and  1837,  and  all  who  knew  their  habits  and  con- 
dition, now  recommended  the  emigration  not  of  individuals 
only,  but  of  entire  families,  and  thus  there  might  be  founded 
a  link  in  the  great  chain  that  connected  the  old  hemisphere 
with  the  new  in  the  bonds  of  good  will  and  public  philan- 
thropy. It  was  pointed  out  that  Upper  Canada  was  a  coun- 
try adapted  by  nature  for  this  emigration,  having  an  im- 
mense chain  of  waters  from  Lake  Superior  to  Lake  Ontario^ 
requiring  little  exertion  to  make  it  one  of  the  greatest  ducts 
of  commerce  on  the  surface  of  the  globe;  and  a  third  of  a 
century  before,  a  Highland  emigration  had  been  success- 
fully made  to  that  country.  Many  distinguished  Highland 
proprietors  took  part  in  this  meeting,  and  petitions  to  Par- 
liament iu  pursuance  of  the  object  were  adopted. 

Another  great  non-intrusion  meeting  was  held  in  the 
Assembly  Booms,  George  Street,  14th  Januaxy,  1840, — the 
Marquis  of  Breadalbane  in  the  chair.  Petitions  were  adopted 
to  the  legislature,  calling  on  them  to  put  an  end  to  the  un- 
happy collision  between  Church  and  State. 

The  Bight  Hon.  Thomas  Babington  Macaulay,  having 
now  become  Secretaxy  at  War  and  a  member  of  the  cabinet, 
had  to  undergo  the  ordeal  of  a  new  election,  23d  Januaxy, 
1840,  when  he  was  unanimously  re-chosen,  and  was  enter- 
tained at  a  public  dinner  by  five  hundred  of  his  constituents, 
— the  Lord  Provost,  Sir  James  Forrest,  in  the  chair. 


1340.  AKKAL&  471 

The  marriage  of  the  young  and  popular  Queen  of  Great 
Britain,  Victoria,  with  Prince  Albert  of  Saxe  Cobourg,  10th 
February,  1840,  was  celebrated  as  a  holiday  in  Edinburgh. 
The  Magistrates,  Judges,  and  principal  citisens  assembled 
to  a  banquet  in  the  Parliament  House  on  the  occasion, — 
about  seven  hundred  were  present— all  wore  white  iarours 
in  their  breast,  and  in  the  evening  the  okj  was  splendidly 
illuminated. 

In  consequence  of  further  proceedings  in  the  dvO  courts, 
another  great  meeting  on  the  Church  of  Scotland  question 
was  held  in  the  Assembly  Booms,  24th  Febmaiy,  1840. 
The  meeting  adopted  resolutions  expressive  of  their  deepest 
anxiety  and  alarm  at  a  recent  decision  of  the  Court  of  Ses- 
sion, on  the  Strathbogie  case,  as  involving  a  manifest  as- 
sumption of  a  right  to  control  or  regulate  the  decisions  of 
Church  Courts  in  matters  piurely  spiritual,  and  that  no  civil 
court  had  attempted  such  interference  since  the  era  of  the 
revolution. 

A  meeting  was  held  in  the  Council  Chamber,  28d  March, 
1840,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  into  consideration  the  means 
of  improving  the  condition  of  the  poor, — ^the  Lord  Provost 
in  the  chair.  The  first  resolution  adopted  was,  ^  That  this 
meeting  has  reason  to  believe  that  the  poor  in  some  parts  of 
Scodand,  and  especially  in  the  large  towns  and  Highlands, 
are  subject  to  a  greater  degree  of  want  and  misery  than  is 
to  be  found  in  England  or  in  most  other  civilized  countries." 
— This  meeting  was  an  important  one,  inasmuch  as  it  may  be 
said  to  have  originated  the  new  Poor  Law  Act  for  Scotiand, 
which  passed  a  few  years  afterwards  (1844).  Two  distin- 
guished Professors  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh  had 
taken  the  deepest  interest  in  this  subject.  Their  object  was 
alike— the  best  means  of  improving  the  condition  of  the 
poor.  Dr.  Chalmers  was  opposed  to  the  principle  of  a  com- 
pulsory assessment  for  the  poor,  conceiving  it  attended  with 
the  most  deleterious  effects. — ^It  was  the  publication  of  the 
work  of  his  antagonist,  Dr.  Alison, '  On  the  Management  of 


472  HIBTORT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

the  Poor  in  Scotland/  which,  exciting  great  interest,  led  to 
this  influential  meeting.* 

The  adherents  of  the  Cbnrch  of  Scotland  being  very 
mnch  divided  on  the  Non« Intrusion  and  Spiritna]Jkl3epen» 
dence  questions,  and  the  newspaper  press  in  Edinburgh 
being  on  rarious  grounds  almost  entirely  ranged  on  the  o]>- 
posite  side,  it  became  important  for  the  non-intrusionists  to 
establish  a  journal  to  advocate  tlieir  views.  Accordingly, 
The  Witness  newspaper  was  commenced,  15th  January, 
1840,  publishing  twice  a^week,  and  it  had  the  good  fortune 
to  secure  the  services  of  Hugh  Miller  as  editor.  This  indi- 
vidual, one  of  the  most  able  and  original*minded  men  of 
the  present  century^  bom  in  humble  life,  he^  gradually 
chiselled  his  way  as  a  working  stone-mason,  till  he  became 
perhaps  the  most  talented  editor  of  a  newspaper  to  be  found 
in  Britain,  and  attained  the  highest  rank  as  a  Geologist, 
and  few  men  write  the  English  language  with  more  power 
and  beauty.  For  this  great  battle  in  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land, he  had  the  advantage  of  his  whole  heart  being  in 
the  cause;  for  the  highest  eloquence  loses  its  power  when 
bereft,  of  moral  earnestness.  This  newspaper,  with  such  ac- 
companiments, speedily  attained  a  status  and  circulation 
almost  unsurpassed  by  any  Scottish  newspaper. 

A  meeting  on  the  subject  of  the  Conversion  of  the  Jews, 
was  held  in  the  Hopetoun  Rooms,  14th  April,  1840, — Geoi^ 
Forbes,  Esq.,  in  the  chair.  An  able  and  interesting  article 
on  the  gradual  return  of  the  Jews  to  Palestine  or  Holy 
Land,  had  appeared  in  the  Quarterly  Beview  a  few  years 
before,  written  by  the  present  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  then 


*  Those  who  wish  to  stadj  the  writings  of  theee  two  eminent  philan- 
thfopiitt  on  this  Titidly  important  qnestion  in  politicftl  economy,  we  wonid 
refer  to  Dr.  Alison's  work  named  aboTe,  and  to  *  The  SoiBdenoj  of  a  Pa- 
rochial System  withoat  a  Poor  Rate,  for  the  Rig^ht  Management  of  the 
Poor,  with  two  Essajs  on  Cognate  subjects.  The  first  read  to  the  British 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science;  the  second  to  the  Boyal  In- 
stitute of  France,'  bj  Dr.  Chalmers;  in  the  21st  toL  of  his  wori»,  and  to 
Dr.  Allaon*s  *  Reply  to  Dr.  Chalmers.'— Edinbnrgh.    1841. 


1840.  AKNAUB.  473 

Lord  Ashley,  which  contributed  to  arouse  the  public  at* 
tention  to  the  story  of  this  ancient  people,  so  remarkable 
in  the  history  of  the  world. — On  this  occasion  the  principal 
speaker  was  Professor  Alexander  of  King's  College,  Lon- 
don, who  a  few  years  afterwards  became  Bishop  of  Jem- 
salem.  He  was  himself  a  converted  Jew. — ^He  said  the  best 
way  to  convert  his  countrymen  was  to  put  the  Bible  in  their 
hands.  It  was  long  before  he  knew  there  was  such  a  book 
as  the  New  Testament.  When  he  left  Germany  twenty 
years  before,  he  was  to  have  come  to  take  the  place  of  Babbi 
among  the  Jews  of  Edinburgh. — ^When  the  Jews  believed 
the  New  Testament,  then  they  became  real  Jews.  Till  he 
procured  a  copy  of  it  in  Oerman  he  had  no  idea  that  Chris- 
tianity professed  to  be  founded  on  Judaism,  or  that  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  claimed  to  be  the  Messiah  promised  to  their 
fathers,  and  it  was  not  till  after  a  painful  struggle  of  five 
years  tliat  he  was  enlightened  in  the  faith.  He  mentioned 
these  things  in  order  to  induce  Christians  to  send  the  New 
Testament  to  the  Jews.  His  was  not  a  ])eculiar  case,  it  was 
the  case  of  the  nation  at  large. 

The  Earl  of  Aberdeen  having  brought  a  Bill  into  the 
House'  of  Peers,  with  a  view  to  settle  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land question — a  public  meeting  of  those  in  favour  of  the 
Bill  was  held  in  the  Assembly  Booms,  22d  May,  1840^ — Sir 
Bobert  Abercromby  in  the  chair, — and  on  the  following  day, 
in  the  same  place,  a  large  meeting  was  held  of  those  opposed 
to  the  Bill, — ^the  Lord  Provost  in  the  chair;  and  five  days 
afterwards  in  the  Tron  Church,  the  General  Assembly  came 
to  a  vote  on  the  same  subject,  221  being  against  the  Bill, 
and  only  134  in  its  favour. 

A  public  meeting  was  held  3d  August,  1840, — the  Lord 
Provost  presiding, — ^when  it  was  agreed  immediately  to  com- 
mence in  the  Old  Fishmarket  Close,  a  Night  Asylum  for 
the  Houseless  Poor.  Previous  to  this  many  destitute  crea- 
tures were  wont  to  sleep  in  stairs  or  streets  of  the  city,  and 
this  valuable  institution  has  been  found  of  great  benefit  to 


474  HIOTORT  OF  EDINBUBQH. 

the  poorer  classes;  each  inmate  being  allowed  porridge 
and  a  bed  at  night,  and  their  bieak£tft  in  the  morning. 
Strictly  speaking  the  refuge  was  meant  only  fixr  a  single 
nighty  though  in  urgent  cases  this  is  sometimes  extended. 
This  undertaking  was  chieflj  promoted  bj  a  dtizen,  Robert 
Clark,  Esq^ 

A  grand  gala  daj  was  held,  15th  August,  1840,  on 
laying  the  foundation-stone  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  Monu- 
ment, from  a  design  by  Kemp. — ^A  masonic  procession 
took  place— Prince's  Street  Gardens  were  filled  with  a  vast 
assemblage  of  people.  The  day  was  chosen  as  the  anni- 
versary of  Sir  Walter's  birth,  and  the  ceremony  presided 
over  by  the  Lord  Provost  of  the  city,  which  was  thus  about 
to  add  to  its  public  buildings  one  of  the  most  exquisitely 
beautiful,  of  which  any  city  in  Europe  can  boast 

On  the  death  of  Principal  Baird  in  1840,  Dr.  John  Lee, 
a  man.  of  considerable  leaniing  and  research,  was  appointed 
Principal  of  the  University,  and  delivered  his  inaugural 
address  to  a  crowded  audience,  2d  November.  On  this 
occasion,  the  reverend  Principal  was  preceded  by  the  in- 
signia of  the  city  and  University,  and  was  accompanied 
by  the  Lord  Provost,  who  is  also  Lord  Bector  of  the 
University. — Principal  Lee  said  he  had  succeeded  one 
whose  patriarchal  appearance  had  been  familiar  in  these 
halls  for  nearly  half  a  century,  and  that  there  were  some 
present  who  even  remembered  the  dignity  with  which  the 
same  office  had  been  filled  by  a  man  of  high  intelliect — 
Principal  Robertson,  whose  name  had  long  reflected  lustre 
on  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and  on  the  country;  the 
history  of  which  he  had  illustrated  with  a  felicity  of  style 
and  a  depth  of  philosophical  reflection  which  Herodotus 
might  have  envied. 

Dr.  Lee  said,  the  first  movement  towards  the  erection  of 
a  College  in  Edinburgh  was  in  1558,  by  Eobert  Beid, 
Bishop  of  Orkney,  who  was  for  ten  years  President  of  the 
Court  of  Session,  and  whose  literary  taste  was  only  equalled 


1640.  AKKALS.  475 

by  his  political  sagacity  and  princely  mmiificence.  His 
legacy  purchased  the  grouBd  on  which  the  original  College 
was  built,  and  the  voluntary  contributions  of  citizens  reared 
the  onambitioos  stmctore,  which  serred  as  the  metropolitan 
University  for  nearly  a  century  and  a  half,  and  most  un- 
fortunately, when  the  present  splendid  building  was  con- 
structed, the  boundaries  were  not  enlarged,  and  no  room 
left  for  a  common  hall  and  a  college  chapel.  While  they 
owed  the  origin  of  this  academical  establishment  to  a  Bishop 
Beid,  they  had  this  year,  1840,  succeeded  to  a  most  muni- 
ficent benefaction  firom  a  General  of  the  same  name, — ^the 
sum  of  nearly  £70,000,  for  establishing  a  professorship  of 
music  and  other  useAiI  purposes. 

While  excitement  in  political  affiiirs  had  very  much  calmed 
down  in  Edinburgh,  great  contention  had  arisen  on  church 
questions.  In  these  there  were  first  the  Moderates,  who 
followed  in  the  wake  of  Principal  Bx>bert8on;  second,  the 
Non-Intrusionists,  whose  principal  leaders  might  be  said  to 
be  Drs.  Chalmers,  Welsh,  and  Candlish;  and  third,  the 
Voluntaries,  who  were  opposed  to  all  ecclesiastical  establish- 
ments. With  these  contending  principles  uppermost  in  the 
minds  of  the  citizens,  the  civic  elections  of  November,  1840, 
excited  intense  interest,  and  this  was  much  increased 
by  the  circumstance  of  each  party  having  brought  on  the 
field  a  candidate  for  the  civic  chair.  The  first  sup- 
ported Sir  William  Drysdale;  the  second  were  in  favour 
of  tlie  re-election  of  Sir  James  Forrest,  Bart,  of  Comi- 
ston,  whom  the  whig  clique  had  brought  forward  as 
chief  magistrate  in  1837,  and  carried  his  election  when  it 
was  alleged  that  his  non-acquaintance  with  municipal  affairs 
rendered  him  somewhat  disqualified  for  the  ofiice,  but  now, 
when  he  had  become  conversant  with  these,  they  opposed 
him  and  supported  the  candidate  of  the  third  party, — Mr. 
Adam  Black.  Perhaps  no  contest  was  ever  pursued  with 
greater  keenness  than  this.  The  Dissenters  firom  the  esta- 
blished church  committed  the  mistake  of  imagining  that  Mr. 


476  HISTORT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

Black  was  opposed  simply  because  he  was  a  Dissenter,  and 
therefore  viewed  their  opponents  as  violating  the  principles 
of  civil  and  religions  liberty,  whereas  it  was  as  a  Yolnntaiy 
he  was  then  objected  to,  and  the  great  majority  of  the 
electors  at  that  period  belonging  to  the  Establishment;  they 
possessed  and  exercised  the  power  of  carrying  a  man  of  their 
own  views.  *  Sir  James  Forrest  was  re-elected* 

It  had  frequently  been  proposed  to  erect  a  chnrch  for  the 
poor  in  the  Cowgate,  where  the  greater  part  of  the  seats 
wonid  be  free,  as,  from  the  high  seat  rents  exacted'  by  the 
magistrates,  the  Established  churches  in  Edinbargh  were 
adapted  only  for  the  rich.  The  want  of  religions  in- 
struction for  the  poor  had  been  particolai'ly  felt  by  the 
dense  and  dingy  population  of  the  Old  Greyfriars  parish, 
a  locality  which  included  some  of  the  worst  parts  of  the 
Cowgate  and  Grassmarket.  The  ministers  of  this  parish, 
John  Sym  and  Thomas  Guthrie,  two  excellent  and  zealous 
clergymen,  had  been  anxious  to  erect  a  church  and  school 
for  the  poorer  classes  in  the  locality,  though  they  did 
not 'succeed  in  obtaining  the  necessary  frmds;  but  it  was 
afterwards  agreed  to  uncollegiate  the  parish,  an  arrangement 
which  was  brought  about  by  the  Edinburgh  Savings'  Bank 
having  been  abolished  after  the 'institution  of  the  National 
Security  Savings'  Bank,  and  the  directors  of  the  former, 
appropriating  their  surplus  funds  to  the  erection  of  a  new 
church  in  this  parish,  with  the  sittings  chiefly  allocated 
to  the  poor;  and  other  subscribers  agreeing  to  erect 
a  school.  The  foundation  stone  of  this  church,  to  be 
called  St.  John's,  was  laid  in  Victoria  Terrace,  15th  April, 
1839,  and  Mr.  Guthrie  being  appointed  minister,  it  was 
opened  by  him  in  presence  of  the  Magistrates,  19th  Novem- 
ber, 1840.  At  the  close  of  his  discourse  on  this  occasion,  he 
developed  his  views  for  the  management  of  the  parish,  on 
the  strictly  territorial  or  parochial  system — all  parishioners 
having  free  seats,  and  dividing  the  locality  into  small 
manageable  districts,  in   which  the  physical,  educational. 


1640.  AKNALa  477 

and  religions  interests  of  the  poor  might  be  superintended. 
Tliis  admirable  system,  the  same  which  Chahners  had  pro- 
mulgated in  Glasgow,  so  far  back  as  the  year  1819,  and 
foUowed  out  in  Edinburgh  at  a  later  date,  seems  the  true 
foundation  for  the  improvejnent  and  amelioration  of  tlie 
poor  in  large  cities. 

A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  1st  December, 
1840,  to  congratulate  the  Sovereign,  Queen  Victoria,  on 
the  birth  of  the  Princess  Boyal, — the  Lord  Provost  was 
called  to  the  chair.  Some  commotion  arose  by  the  Chartists 
moving  as  an  addition  and  amendment  to  the  address,  a 
request  that  all  prisoners  for  political  offences  should  be 
liberated  on  this  jo^'fol  occasion.  The  original  address  was 
carried. 

The  unhappy  collisions  that  had  arisen  between  the  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  courts,  now  induced  many  to  take  the 
view  that  the  abolition  of  Church  Patronage  was  the  way  to 
restore  peace.  Accordingly  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was 
held  in  George  Street  Assembly  Booms,  9th  December, 
1840,  where  it  was  ably  and  eloquently  argued  that  now 
was  the  time  to  go  to  Parliament,  praying  for  the  repeal  of 
the  act  of  Queen  Anne  of  1711,  which  restored  patronage, 
and  which  then  had  been  hurriedly  passed.  Unanimous 
resolutions  to  that  effect  were  adopted  by  the  meeting. 
On  looking  back  at  £he  whole  of  these  contests,  it  would 
perhaps  have  been  well  if  the  Established  Church  had 
taken  its  stand  fram  1833  unflinchingly  on  the  abolition 
of  Patronage,  but  it  was  in  their  desire  for  peace  that, 
guided  by  the  advice  of  some  of  the  law  officers  of  the 
Crown,  they  had  proposed  the  Veto  Act,  deeming  that 
it  would  answer  the  purpose  of  securing  congregations 
from  the  intrusion  of  unacceptable  ministers. 

Jl  public  meeting  was  held  in  the  Hopetoun  Booms,  21st 
December,  1840, — the  Duke  of  Bucdeuch  in  the  chair, — 
for  the  purpose  of  promoting  subscriptions  to  erecf  additional 
buildings  at  the  Lunatic  Asylum,  Momingside,  for  the  ac- 


478  HI8T0BY  OF  EDOVBUBGH. 

commodation  of  the  poorer  patients.  This  institutioa  wms 
commenced  in  1792,  but  had  hitherto  been  chiefly  devoted  to 
patients  in  the  middle  or  better  ranks  of  life,  and  what  was 
now  desiderated  was  a  lar]^  new  wing  to  be  occupied  hj 
panper  lunatics,  where  the  gentle,  soothing,  and  kind  sjrstem 
of  treatment  shoold  be  adopted,  as  this  was  found  to  be  the 
best  mode  of  cure;  and  the  establishments,  the  Bedlam  at 
Teviot  Row,  and  the  receptacle  at  the  West  Church  work- 
house, did  not  admit  of  the  improved  system  of  treatment. 
The  Earls  of  Stair  and  Haddington,  Lords  Jeffrey  and 
Murray,  took  part  in  the  proceedings.  The  latter  said,  that 
when  Lord  Advocate,  he  had  found  it  was  impossible  to  get 
pauper  lunatics  into  suitable  asylums.  He  hoped  this  stain 
would  now  be  wiped  away. 

Sabfli  SttDgeiL 

David  Bridges  was  bom  in  Edinburgh  in  1776, 
and  was  a  pupil  at  the  High  School.  He  became 
well-known  in  Edinburgh  from  his  taste  for  literature  and 
the  fine  arts.  He  is  mentioned  in  Peter's  Letters  to  his 
Eansfolk.  In  Blackwood's  Magazine  he  was  designated  by 
Lockhart  and  Wilson  as  the  Director  General  of  the  Fine 
Arts  in  Scotland.    He  died  in  1840. 

SlexanOer  VMrnj^. 

« 

Alexander  Nasmyth,  the  well-known  landscape 
painter,  was  bom  in  Edinburgh  1757,  and  was  ap- 
prenticed to  Allan  Bamsay,  the  son  of  the  poet.  He  after- 
wards travelled  in  Italy,  but  spent  the  great  part  of  a  long 
life  in  his  native  city,  where  he  obtained  a  high  reputation 
as  an  artist,  so  much  so,  that  pictures  in  his  style  came  to 
be  designated  as  of  the  Nasmyth  school.  He  also  adopted 
landscape  gardening  or  lajring  out  pleasure  grounds  with 
beauty  and  harmonious  effect,  as  a  branch  of  his  profession. 


1840.  ANNiaJS.  479 

He  took  an  active  part  in  all  the  institQiioiis  in  Edinburgh 
for  promoting  the  fine  arts,  was  a  member  of  the  original 
Society  of  Scottish  Artists,  an  associate  of  the  Boyal  Insti- 
tution, and  an  honorary  member  of  the  Scottish  Academy. 
Nasmyth  died  at  Edinburgh- in  1840. 

George  Baird,  Principal  for  a  long  period  of 
years  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  was  bom  in 
1761,  the  son  of  a  farmer  near  Borrowstonness.  In  1778  he 
was  a  pupil  at  the  coUege  of  which  he  afterwards  became  the 
head.  He  was  ordained  minister  of  Dunkeld  in  1787,  and 
three  years  after  of  Lady  Yester^s  church,  Edinburgh.  In 
1792  he  was  transferred  to  New  Gh^yfiiars  church,  and  was 
also  appointed  to  the  Hebrew  chair  in  the  University.  He 
married  the  daughter  of  Provost  Elder,  whose  influence 
was  so  great  in  those  days — the  closing  portion  of  last 
century— in  Edinburgh, — as  to  aid  hb  promotion  not  a 
little.  On  the  death  of  Principal  Robertson  in  1793,  young 
Baird  became  Principal  of  the  metropolitan  University. 

He  was  a  man  of  kindly  and  benevolent  disposition,  and 
took  an  active  part  in  the  Greneral  Assembly  scheme  for 
educating  tlie  inhabitants  of  the  Highlands  and  Islands  of 
Scotland.    He  died  in  1840. 

John  Thomson,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  land- 
scape painters  Scotland  has  produced,  was  bom  in 
Ayrshire,  1778.  He  was  a  pupil  of  Kasmyth,  and  instead 
of  the  palpit,  a  painter  should  have  been  his  profession.  He 
was  educated  for  the  Scottish  church,  and  became  minister 
of  Duddingston,  near  Edinburgh,  where  he  spent  the 
greater  part  of  his  life.  The  manse  is  beautifully  situated 
on  the  banks  of  the  loch  of  Duddiugston,  where  the  Edin- 


480  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBUB6H. 

burghers  hold  their  sports  of  skating  and  cnxiin^  to  the 
soath  of  Arthur's  Seat.  Thomson's  landscapes  bear  the 
hij^iest  character  for  genios  and  beantjr.  He  died  in  1840. 
Lord  John  Bnssell,  as  the  <Hrgan  of  Lord  Mel- 
botime*s  ministry,  having  announced  in  the  Hooae 
of  Commons  in  April,  1841,  that  government  proposed  to 
alter  the  Com  Laws  bj  establishing  a  fixed  moderate  du^ 
instead  of  the  sliding  scale  of  the  existing  system;  this  threw 
the  country  into  agitation  on  the  subject. 

A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  on  10th  May, 
for  the  purpose  of  expressing  approval  of  the  measures 
brought  forward  by  her  Majesty's  government  for  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  present  Com  Laws,  and  revision  of  the  duties 
on  foreign  sugars  and  timber, — ^Adam  Black,  Esq.,  in  the 
chair.  The  Chartists  interrupted  the  proceedings  by  mov- 
ing a  rival  chairman,  and  claimed  a  majority  for  their 
nominee,  when,  to  prevent  further  altercation,  Mr.  Black 
adjourned  the  meeting. 

On  5th  June,  Sir  Bobert  Peel  carried  a  motion  in  the 
House  of  Commons  expressive  of  a  want  of  confidence  in 
the  ministry,  by  a  majority  of  one,  in  a  house  of  623  mem- 
bers. This  led  to  a  dissolution  of  Parliament,  and  on  21st 
June,  Sir  John  Campbell  announced  to  the  electors  of 
Edinburgh,  that  when  preparing  to  appear  before  them  to 
solicit  a  re-election,  he  had  been  appointed  Lord  Chancellor 
of  L'eland,  but  that  he  looked  with  honest  pride  at  having 
been  among  the  first  members  returned  to  the  Beformed 
Parliament  by  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  along  with  JfiFFBsr, 
Abebcbombt,  and  Macaulat. 

The  new  election  for  Edinburgh  took  place  on  1st  July, 
1841,  when  the  Bight  Hon.  T.  B.  Macaulay  and  William 
Gibson  Craig,  Esq.,  were  proposed  and  seconded,  and  also 
Col.  Thompson  and  James  Lawrie.  The  show  of  hands  at  the 
hustings  indicated  a  majority  in  favour  of  the  two  latter,  but 
Col.  Thompson's  supporters  declining  a  poll,  and   James 


1841.  AKKAI£.  481 

Lawrie,  who  was  a  Chartist,  doing  the  same,  Macaulay  and 
Gibson  Craig  were  declared  duly  elected. 

A  public  dinnor  was  given  on  25tfa  June,  1841,  to 
Charles  Dickens,  the  popular  author  of  the  Pickwick  Papers, 
Nicholas  Nicklebj,  and  other  worksy^Professor  Wilson  in 
the  chair.  Upwards  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  gentlemen 
were  present  in  the  great  Waterloo  Boom,  and  in  the  even* 
ing,  about  two  hundred  ladies  graced  the  scene. — The  chief 
benefit  of  Dickens's  writings  has  been  to  interest  society  in 
the  welfare  of  the  humbler  classes — ^showing  that  the  same 
world  of  emotion  beats  in  their  bosoms  as  in  the  higher 
classes.  His  picture  of  Little  Nelly  and  her  aged  blind 
grand&ther  may  be  adduced  as  a  specimen.  At  this  period 
Dickens  seemed  a  young  man  about  32  years  of  age,  and 
his  spoken  eloquence  was  much  in  the  style  of  his  written 
productions. 

A  public  meeting  was  held  in  the  Hopetoun  Kooms,  18th 
October,  1841,  to  afford  Mr.  Latrobe  and  the  venerable 
Scottish  poet,  James  Montgomeiy,  an  opportunity  of  giving 
some  account  of  the  philanthropic  missions  of  the  Moravians 
or  United  Brethren, — ^the  Lord  Provost  was  called  to  the 
chair.  Mr.  Montgomery  said  he  had  left  Scotland  when  a 
child,  and  had  never  again  crossed  the  English  border  till 
three  weeks  ago;  he  arrived  in  Edinburgh  when  the  face  of 
nature  was  shrouded  in  darkness,  and  the  first  thing  he  ob- 
served was  a  street  brawl.  The  next  morning  was  the  Sab- 
bath— ^there  was  a  repose  in  the  city,  and  a  beauty  in  the 
heavens  which  soothed  and  cheered  the  heart,  all  the  more 
firom  the  contrast  with  the  bustle  of  business,  and  they  had 
seen  enough  to  leave  such  an  impression  on  their  minds,  as 
would  never  be  obliterated.  The  fine  old  man  then  stated 
various  details  with  respect  to  the  origin  and  progress  of  the 
Moravian  missions  in  the  West  Indies,  and  their  labours  in 
behalf  of  the  education,  civilization,  and  Christianization  of 
the  Negroes.  His  statements  naturally  recalled  to  the  me- 
mory of  his  hearers  his  own  beautiful  lines : 

it      Xl 


482  HISTORT  OF  EDINBURGH. 

** Th7  ofaaiiis  «ra  brokiMi,  Aftiea,  be  free! 
Thus  saith  th«  iilMid-empreM  of  the  aoa." 


This  was  the  first  ^and  only  visit  of  this  excellent  and 
venerable  poet  to  the  metropolis  of  his  native  coantrjr,*  and 
when  asked  if  he  would  not  come  back,  he  remarked  that 
Wordsworth  had  rmn$iud  Yarrow^  and  he  would  like  to  see 
Edinburgh  again. 

The  great  guns  of  the  Castle  announced  to  the  inhabi- 
tants the  birth  of  an  heir  apparent  to  the  British  Crown, 
11th  November,  1841.  The  Merchant  Company  voted  an 
address  of  congratulation  the  same  day  to  Queen  Victoria, 
on  the  happy  event;  and  the  following  day  a  public  meeting 
was  held  in  the  Waterloo  Booms,  for  the  same  purpose, — 
the  Lord  Provost  presiding.  On  the  15th,  the  Lord  Pro- 
vost and  Magistrates  entertained  about  one  thousand  of  the 
most  respectable  citizens  at  a  banquet  in  the  Parliament 
House,  on  the  joyful  occasion.  Instead  of  the  old  custom 
of  illuminating  the  city,  the  more  judicious  plan  was  adopted 
of  agreeing  to  raise  a  sum  of  money  for  the  relief  of  the 
necessitous  poor,  which  was  expended  in  meal,  potatoes,  and 
coal.  The  subscription  amounted  to  nearly  £3,000.  The 
boy  was  created  Prince  of  Wales,  4th  December, 
and  on  25th  January,  1842,  was  baptized  with  the 
name  of  Albert  Edwabd. 

A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  in  the  Assembly 
Rooms,  31st  January,  1842, — the  Lord  Provost  in  the  chair. 
The  object  of  the  meeting  was  to  consider  the  present  situ- 
ation and  prospects  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  The  general 
conviction  was,  that  the  abolition  of  Patronage  was  now  the 
cure  for  the  existing  difficulties. — ^They  were  not  fighting  to 
give  additional  power  to  the  clei^,  but  for  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  the  people,  and  for  the  principles  of  religious 
liberty.  A  strong  resolution  for  the  repeal  of  the  law  of 
Patronage  was  adopted.    It  was  remarked  at  this  great  as- 

*  He  dwd  Apia,  1854. 


1842.  AK^'ALB.  483 

semblage,  that  the  proceedings  of  the  Civil  Courts  might 
drive  the  best  ministers  oat  of  the  Established  Church,  bat 
they  could  not  drive  them  out  of  the  hearts  and  affections  of 
the  people  of  Scotland. 

A  public  meetbg  was  held  in  the  Hopetoun  Rooms,  14th 
February,  1842, — ^the  Lord  Provost  in  the  chair, — ^to  ex- 
press  their  opposition  to  the  ronning  of  railway  trains  on 
tlie  Sabbath-day — ^the  day  of  rest  Besolutioiis  to  that 
effect  were  adopted. 

A  great  era  in  the  commercial  intercourse  of  Scotland 
occurred  on  18th  February,  1842,  by  the  opening  of  the 
Edinburgh  and  Glasgow  Railway,  which  was  now  to  reduce 
tlie  time  occupied  in  traTelling  between  these  two  great 
cities,  from  four  or  five  hours  to  less  than  two  hours.  There 
was  a  great  assemblage  of  people  at  the  west  end  of  the 
New  town,  near  the  terminus  of  the  Railway,  to  witness  the 
opening  of  this  important  undertaking.  A  train  of  thirty 
carriages  arrived  about  mid-day  from  Glasgow,  conveying 
the  west  country  directors,  drawn  by  tluree  engines,  bearing 
the  appropriate  names  of  the  Stephenson,  the  Playfair,  and 
the  Galileo— they  were  hailed  by  the  band  of  the  53d  regi- 
ment, pla}'ing  "  See  the  conquering  hero  comes." — The 
Edinburgh  directors  entered  their  train,  consisting  of  twenty- 
six  carriages,  and  both  started  for  Glasgow,  the  journey 
being  accompUsIied  at  the  rate  of  from  fifteen  to  twentv- 
five  miles  an  hour. — The  Cowlairs  station  at  Glasgow  was 
converted  into  a  temporar}'  hall,  where  upwards  of  one 
thousand  gentlemen  partook  of  a  splendid  banquet, — Mr. 
Leadbetter,  chairman  of  the  Company,  presiding,  supported 
by  the  Lord  Provosts  of  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow.  The 
Chief  Magistrate  of  Edinburgh  remarked,  that  it  seemed,  as 
if  by  some  gigantic  power  the  two  cities  had  been  uprooted 
from  their  old  foundations  and  forced  into  immediate  contact, 
and  the  distance  between  them  comparatively  annihilated. 

A  scheme  was  now  promulgated  in  Edinburgh  with  a 
view  to  sustain  a  free  and  independent  church  in  Scotland, 


484  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBtntOH. 

in  case  Parliament  confirmed  the  view  taken  bj  the  Scottish 
civil  coorts,  npon  the  ecclesiastical  qnestiona  agitating  the 
coontrj.  It  was  proposed,  by  contribations  firom  parodiial 
districts,  to  raise  a  fond  to  yield  not  less  than  £100  per  an- 
num to  each  minister,  and  that  for  one  or  two  months  of  the 
year  each  clergyman  might  have  a  rotation  or  itinerancy  to 
promote  a  more  diffosed  interest  among  the  whole  body  of 
the  people.  It  was  even  calculated,  that  to  sostain  500 
ministers,  a  fond  might  be  volontarily  raised  to  allow  £200 
a-year  to  each,  or  £150  for  600  ministers,  besides  building 
new  churches. 

The  keen  and  anxious  collisions  that  had  arisen  regarding 
ecclesiastical  questions,  imparted  a  deep  interest  to  every 
step  that  was  taken  regarding  the  Church  of  Scotland; 
and  government  appelated  a  nobleman  of  high  rank  and 
great  wealth,  to  represent  the  Sovereign  in  the  Greneral  As-> 
sembly  at  Edinburgh,  during  the  session  of  1842, — ^the 
Marquis  of  Bute.  The  Marquis  opened  the  Assembly  on 
19th  May,  with  a  state-etiquette,  and  procession  of  unusual 
splendour. — ^About  one  hundred  carriages  appeared  in  the 
vice-regal  train. 

At  this  Assembly  there  were  216  members  voted  that 
Patronage  is  a  grievance,  and  is  the  main  cause  of  the  diffi- 
culties in  which  the  church  was  involved,  and  that  it  ought 
to  be  abolished;  there  was  thus  a  majority  of  69  members 
in  fisivour  of  the  abolition  of  Patronage.  This  Assembly,  on 
a  subsequent  day — 24th  May,  agreed  to  present  a  Claim 
of  Bights  to  the  government,  protesting  against  the  en- 
croachments of  the  civil  courts.  Its  adoption  was  carried 
by  241  against  110. 

The  Highland  and  Agricultural  Society  of  Scotland  held 
a  grand  exhibition  or  show  of  live  stock,  and  of  agricultural 
implements  at  Edinburgh,  2d  August,  1842.  It  attracted 
visitors  from  all  quarters  of  the  country,  and  the  city  was 
crowded  like  a  fair.  The  show  was  held  at  Warrender's 
Park,  Bruntsfield  Links.      Upwards  of  twenty  thousand 


1842.  AKNAL8.  485 

people  visited  it;  and  in  the  evening,  a  public  dinner  took 
place  in  a  splendid  pavilion  erected  for  the  occasion  on  the 
Castle-hill.  The  Duke  of  Richmond  presided  as  chairman, 
and  the  Duke  of  Bozbnrgh  was  croupier.  Upwards  of  two 
thousand  gentlemen  were  present,  and  the  whole  afiair  went 
off  with  great  eclat, 

About  the  middle  of  the  same  month,  conaderable  excite> 
ment  was  caused  by  the  announcement  that  the  young  and 
popular  Sovereign  of  Britain,  Queen  Victoria,  was  to  visit 
the  ancient  metropolis  of  Scotland.  Her  Majesty,  acoom* 
panied  by  her  husband,  Prince  Albert,  left  Windsor  Palace, 
29th  August,  1842,  and  embarked  at  Woolwich  on  board 
the  Boyal  George  yacht  On  account  of  hazy  weather,  the 
royal  squadron  only  reached  Inchkeith  about  midnight  on 
81st  August,  and  early  next  morning,  the  veiy  anniversary 
of  the  day  on  which  Qneen  Mary  entered  her  capital  of 
Scotland  from  France  nearly  three  centuries  before, — Queen 
Victoria  and  her  royal  consort  landed  at  Oranton.Pier. 
Great  preparations  had  been  made  in  Edinburgh  for  the 
royal  procession.  A  temporary  city  gate  was  erected  at 
Brandon  Street,  where  it  was  arranged  the  Magistrates  were 
to  present  the  keys — and  for  several  days  multitudes  of 
strangers  had  arrived.  On  the  morning  of  1st  September, 
the  Queen's  body  guard,  the  royal  archers,  assembled  at  the 
Military  Academy,  under  the  command  of  the  Earl  of  Dal* 
housie,  now  Marquis  of  Dalhousie,  and  Lord  Elcho,  now 
Earl  of  Wemyss,  but  by  some  mistake  the  proper  signals 
announcing  the  Queen's  arrival  had  not  been  given,  and 
aoon  after  nine  o'clock  the  strangers  and  inhabitants  of  the 
oily  were  caught  by  surprise,  with  the  great  guns  of  the  fortress 
announcing  her  Majesty's  arrival — The  royal  body  guard 
proceeded  rapidly  on  foot,  towards  Brandon  Street,  scarcely 
in  time  to  take  tlieir  place  by  the  royal  carriage.  The  Ma- 
gistrates were  waiting  at  the  Council  Chamber,  when  the 
Q^neen's  arrival  in  the  city  was  announced,  and  they  pro- 
ceeded in  their  carriages  down  the  Canongate  at  a  gallop. 


486  msTOST  of  edinbubgh. 

The  whde  aRUgements  about  prwiwiting  the  keys  of  the 
dtf  were  thus  OTerthiown,  and  the  cmah,  and  coofbaioB, 
and  disappmitmenty  it  waa  remarfcedy  lenmUed  the  root  of 
a  beaten  annj. 

Meanwhile  the  royal  oort^e  had  proceeded  to  Dalkeith 
Palace,  where  ii  had  been  arranged  the  Qneen  waa  to  so- 
jonnu  In  the  coone  of  the  day,  the  Lord  Provoei  and  Ma- 
gistrates had  an  interview  with  Sir  Robert  Fed  there,  when 
it  was  arranged  that  a  royal  progress  should  take  place 
through  the  city  on  the  following  Satorday. 

Edinburgh  was  splendidly  illaminated  in  honour  of  the 
Queen's  anriTal,  2d  September,  1842,  and  on  the  foflowing 
day  her  Mqesty,  accompanied  by  Prince  Albert,  left  Dal- 
keith for  Hdyrood,  whence  she  made  a  royal  progress  in 
her  carriage,  drawn  by  foor  beantifiil  bays,  and  escorted  by 
the  nobility  and  her  other  liege  subjects  up  the  ancient 
Canongate  and  High  Street — the  Castle  firing  a  royal  salute. 
At  the  Exchange,  the  Lord  Proyost  and  Magistrates  pre- 
sented the  keys  of  the  city  with  a  short  address,  to  which- 
her  Majesty  in  a  gracefid  and  afikble  manner  rq>lied: 
^I  return  the  keys  of  the  city,  with  perfect  confidence, 
into  the  safe  keeping  of  the  Lord  Provost,  Magistrates  and 
CouncO.** 

The  procession  now  proceeded  to  the  Castle.  The  Queen 
alighted  at  the  barrier  gate,  and  walked  with  Prince 
Albert  to  the  Argyll  battery,  where  thqr  inspected  Mons 
M^  and  also  enjoyed  one  of  the  most  picturesque  and 
splendid  views  which  Europe  can  produce — the  Firth  of 
Forth  and  its  sunny  shores  lying  before  them,  and  the  beau- 
tiiul  city  beneath.  They  then  surveyed  the  half  moon 
battery,  and  visited  Queen  Mary's  apartment  where  James 
VI.  was  bonu 

During  the  time  her  Majesty  was  at  the  Castl^  the  foun- 
dation-stone of  the  Victoria  Hall,  with  the  new  church 
and  buildings  for  the  Greneral  Assembly,  was  laid.  On  the 
plate  deposited  was  inscribed: 


1842.  ANNAI&  487 

On  the  Third  day  of  September^  in  the  yew  of  our  Lord» 

XDOOCXLU, 

The  day  of  oar  Most  Gracious  Majesty, 

Queen  Tiotoria, 

Visiting  the  dty  of  Edinburgh, 

The  Bight  Hon.  Bir  James  Forrest  of  Oomiston,  Bart, 

Lord  Provost, 
The  Bev.  David  Welsh,  D  J>.,  Moderator  of  the  Assembly, 
The  foundation-stone  of  this  superb  structure,  to  be  called 

Yiotoria  Hall, 
For  the  use  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 

was  laid  by 
The  Bight  Hon.  Lord  Frederick  Fitidarenoe,  G.  G.  H.  &c. 

The  royal  cavalcade  was  again  formed  at  the  Castle,  and 
proceeded  down  the  Earthen  Mound.  A  few  minutes  after 
it  passed  the  Boyal  Institution  bnilding,  a  temporary  gallery 
near  the  east  front  unfortunately  fell,  and  was  attended  with 
some  distressing  casualtiesi— one  person  being  killed  and 
several  seriously  hurt. 

The  royal  party  proceeded  by  the  Dean  Bridge  to  Dal- 
meny  Park,  on  a  visit  to  the  Earl  of  Bosebery,  and  in  the 
afkemoon  returned  by  Leith  to  Dalkeith. 

On  5th  September,  Prince  Albert  visited  the  University, 
and  accompanied  by  Principal  Lee,  inspected  the  Museum, 
and  afterwards  went  through  the  Boyal  Institution  buildings 
and  rode  to  the  Calton  Hill  to  see  the  varions  monuments 
there. — The  same  day  her  Majest}*  held  a  splendid  reception 
at  Dalkeith  Palace. 

The  Queen  and  Prince  Albert  lefb  the  dty  on  6th  Sep- 
tember, to  visit  Scone  Palace  and  the  Marquis  of  Bread- 
albane,  at  Taymouth,  and  other  parts  of  Perth  and  Stirling- 
shire, returning  to  Edinburgh  on  the  13th,  for  Dalkeith, 
and  they  finally  left  the  metropolis  of  Scotland  amid  the 
booming  of  cannon,  15th  September,  and  embarked  at 
Qranton  Pier  for  London,  after  a  visit  which  seemed  alike 
pleasing  to  all  classes  of  society. 

A  public  dinner  was  given  to  David  Boberts,  Esq.^  the 


488  mSTORT  OF  EDmBUBGH. 

distingaiahed  architectural  painter;  in  the  Hopetoun  Roomsy 
19th  October,  1842, — ^Lord  Cockbam  in  the  chair.  Roberts 
had  given  to  the  public  the  most  beautiful  representations 
of  Moorish  and  Grecian  architecture,  and  had  visited  a 
great  portion  of  the  territories  of  Europe  and  Asia,  and 
illustrated  their  productions  in  his  beautiful  pictorial  efforts. 

The  Archduke  Frederick,  brother  of  the  late  Emperor  of 
Austria,  visited  the  city  in  October,  1842,  and  privatelj  sur- 
veyed many  of  the  public  institutions. 

A  convocation  of  clergymen  belonging  to  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  who  had  resisted  the  encroachments  of  the  civil 
courts,  and  maintained  the  principles  of  Non-Intrusion,  was 
held  in  Edinburgh,  17th  November,  1842.  Chalmers  de- 
livered a  powerftd  discourse,  and  after  a  few  days'  conference 
four  hundred  and  twenty-seven  ministers  signed  resolutions, 
rejijuesting  a  legblative  remedy;  failing  which,  they  intimated 
to  the  prime  minister.  Sir  Robert  Peel,  that  they  would  be^ 
obliged  to  leave  the  Established  Church. 

Sir  Charles  Bell  was  bom  in  Edinburgh,  1778, 
and  educated  at  the  High  School  there.  He  was 
assistant  for  a  time  to  his  brother  John,  the  celebrated  Ed- 
inburgh surgeon..  In  1799  he  became  a  member  of  the 
CoUege  of  Surgeons,  Edinburgh.  He  wrote  one  of  the 
^  Bridgewater  Treatises '  in  1834,  was  elected  Professor  of 
Surgery  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh  in  1835,  and  With 
Lord  Brougham  he  conjointly  edited  an  edition  of  ^  Paley's 
Theology '  in  1836.  His  ^  Exposition  of  the  Natural  System 
of  the  Nerves  of  the  Human  Body '  appeared  first  in  1824^ 
and  his  enlarged  and  improved  edition  of  tlie  ^Nervous 
System  of  the  Human  Body'  in  1836;  his  < Institutes  of 
Surgery '  in  1838.  As  a  discoverer  in  the  nervous  system, 
his  name  has  attained  the  highest  celebrity.  Seldom  had 
three  brothers  enjoyed  greater  reputation  in  Edinburgh  than 


18^  ANNAL&  489 

John  BeU,  Sir  Charles  Bell,  and  George  Joeeph  Bell,  the 
author  of  the  ^  Commentaries  on  the  Commercial  Law  of 
Scotland. 

Sir  Charies  BeU  died  in  1842. 

Another  species  of  meeting  or  entertainment  be- 
gan to  prevail  in  Edinburgh  about  this  period, 
called  Soirees,  from  taking  place  in  the  evening,  and  tea  or 
fruit  being  distributed  or  used  as  vwres.  A  meeting  of  this 
description  took  place  in  the  Waterloo  Booms,  12th  Janu- 
ary, 1843,  to  receive  the  Anti-Corn  Lkw  deputation, — John 
Wigham,  jun.,  in  the  chair.  The  celebrated  Richard  Cob- 
den,  M.P.,  a  yoong  roan  of  business-like  appearance,  great 
earnestness  and  common  sense,  spoke  at  considerable  length; 
also  Col.  P.  Thompson,  and  John  Bright  the  Quaker,  a 
talented  man,  much  at  his  ease,  and  evidently  one  who 
would  soon  find  his  way  into  Parliament.  They  dilated 
very  ably  on  a  proposition  which  to  many  was  as  clear  as 
any  in  Euclid — ^tbe  propriety  of  Free  Trade  in  Com. 

A  meeting  of  the  Commission  of  the  General  Assembly 
was  held  in  the  High  Church,  31st  January,  1843, — ^Dr. 
Welsh,  the  Moderator,  in  the  chair.  An  official  letter  had 
been  received  from  the  Home  Secretary  of  State,  Sir  James 
Graham,  showing  that  the  government  would  neither  accede 
to  the  Claim  of  Bights  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  nor  con- 
cede the  repeal  of  Queen  Anne's  Act,  restoring  Patronage. 
Under  these  circumstances,  if  such  views  were  confirmed  by 
the  legislature,  the  majority  of  the  Assembly  were  clearly 
of  opinion  that  they  could  not  continue  in  the  Established 
Church.  The  Commission  therefor^  appealed  from  the 
ministiy  to  Parliament,  to  settle  this  important  question, 
and  on  8th  March  following,  the  House  of  Commons,  by  a 
majority  of  135,  refused  even  to  send  the  petition  of  the 
Church  to  a  committee.  This  result  was  anticipated,  and  a 
disruption  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  seemed  inevitable. 
Government  were  misled,  by  having  been  assured  that  only 


490  HISTORT  OP  EDINBURGE. 

a  few  of  thoM  whom  they  deemed  the  wild  men,  would 
secede.  Of  the  Scottish  members  present  in  the  Hoose  of 
Commons  on  this  occasion,  25  roted  with  the  minority,  end 
only  12  in  the  majori^. 

Active  measures  were  now  instituted  in  Eklinborgh  and 
throoghoat  the  country  fur  contributions  towards  the  soa- 
tentation  of  a  Free  Church,  independent  of  the  state,  in 
prospect  of  the  disruption.  A  temporary  building,  with  a 
view  both  to  accommodate  St*  George's  congregation  and 
the  General  Assembly,  was  commenced  5th  April,  1843, 
behind  Castle  Terrace,  near  the  Lothian  Road.  It  was 
prepared  on  a  scale  to  accommodate  1,000  people,  and  from 
the  material  of  which  it  was  constructed  was  called  '^  Cand- 
lish's  brick  bam/' 

At  this  period  great  distress  existed  among  the  industrious 
trades  and  labouring  classes  in  Edinburgh.  A  collection  was 
made  for  their  behoof  at  the  various  churches  and  chapels 
in  the  city,  which  with  private  subscriptions  amounted  to 
£5,000,  and  government  very  judiciously  employed  a  great 
number  of  them  in  making  the  Queen's  Drive,  a  beantiful 
roadway  around  the  royal  Park  aud  Arthur's  Seat — about 
twenty-six  feet  wide — ^forming  altogether,  when  finished,  one 
of  the  finest  promenades  or  rides  in  Europe.  The  view  from 
it  is  so  beautiftd  and  varied,  that  it  ought  to  be  visited  by 
all  strangers  and  tourists,  as  well  as  by  the  denizens  of  ^  our 
own  romantic  town.** 

The  18th  of  May,  1843,  was  a  day  of  deep  interest  and 
excitement  in  Edinburgh.  The  General  Assembly  was 
opened  with  the  usual  state  procession, — the  Marquis  of 
Bute  again  representing  the  Sovereign.  Dr.  David  Welsh, 
the  Moderator  of  the  last  Assembly,  preached  before  his 
(Qrace  the  Comnussioner  and  the  members,  in  the  High 
Church,  to  a  crowded  audience,  aware  of  the  striking  and 
important  events  about  to  take  place.  His  subject  was, 
<<  Be  fully  persuaded  in  your  own  mind."  On  its  conclu- 
sion, the  clerical  and  lay  officials  proceeded  to  St.  Andrew's 


IMS.  AKKALS.  491 

Church,  Gkorge  Street,  where  a  large  aodienoe  had  been 
assembled  from  an  earlj  hour.  The  Assembly  was  there 
opened  in  the  usual  manner,  but  before  proceeding  to  busi- 
ness,  Dr.  Welsh,  amid  the  breathless  anxiety  of  the  audience, 
rose  and  said :  ^  According  to  the  usual  form  of  procedure, 
this  is  the  time  for  making  up  the  roll;  but  in  consequence 
of  certain  proceedings  affecting  our  rights  and  privileges-^ 
proceedings  which  have  been  sanctioned  by  her  Majesty's 
government,  and  by  the  legislature  of  the  country,  and  more 
especially  in  respect  that  there  has  been  an  infringement  on 
the  liberties  of  our  constitution,  so  that  we  could  not  now 
constitute  this  court  without  a  violation  of  the  terms  of  the 
union  between  Church  and  State,  in  this  land,  as  now  au- 
thoritatively declared, — ^I  must  protest  against  our  proceeding  ' 
further.  The  reasons  that  have  led  us  to  come  to  this  con- 
clusion are  fully  set  forth  in  the  document  which  I  hold  in 
my  hand,  and  which,  with  permission  of  the  house,  I  shall 
proceed  to  read.*' — After  reading  it,  the  Moderator  left 
St.  Andrew's  charch,  accompanied  by  Dr.  Chalmers,  Dr. 
Gordon,  and  aU  the  protesting  members,  a  nnmerons  band. 
Surrounded  by  a  great  crowd  of  citizens,  they  walked  in 
procession  to  Tanfield  Hall,  Canonmills,  where  an  assem- 
blage of  three  thousand  people  were  gathered.  The  first 
General  Assembly  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland  was  then 
formed;  Dr.  Chalmebs  being  chosen  Moderator  by  general 
acclamation. 

On  this  great  disruption  taking  place,  the  General  As- 
sembly in  St.  Andrew's  church  proceeded  with  their  business, 
and  elected  Principal  M^arlane  of  Glasgow  as  their  Mo- 
derator. There  were  thus  two  General  Assemblies  sitting 
simultaneously  in  the  city  of  Edinburgh. 

So  great  was  the  interest  excited  in  the  Scottish  metro- 
polis by  these  proceedings,  that  the  Witness  newspaper  of 
the  following  day,  sold  12,000  copies  with  the  details  of  the 
same. 

On  23d  May,  the  formal '  Act  of  Separation '  from  the 


492  HISTOST  OF  EDnVBUROH. 

Eccledaitical  Establishment  of  Scotlaod  was  signed  at  Tan- 
fidd  Hall,  by  between  fonr  and  five  hundred  clergTmen, 
who  thns  gave  away  their  worldly  all  on  account  of  what 
they  deemed  the  inrasion  and  overthrow  of  their  indepen- 
dence,  and  which  nntil  this  collision  arosey  they  considered 
as  sufficiently  secured  to  them  by  the  law  of  the  land. 

A  singular  scene  presented  itself  in  Edinbnigh,  on  Sab- 
bath 28th  May,  1843,  from  the  complete  change  in  the  con- 
gregations of  the  city.  Each  of  the  outed  or  Free  Church 
ministers  officiated  in  a  new  place  of  worship,  to  those  of 
their  congregations  who  adhered  to  them.  Several  of  the 
Established  Churches  were  thns  left  almost  entirely  deserted. 

In  the  evening,  at  Canonmills,  such  was  the  enthusiasm 
exhibited  by  the  people,  that  while  a  congregation  of  three 
thousand  assembled  in  the  Hall,  the  stream  of  human  be- 
ings that  poured  down  from  the  city  to  this  new  suburban 
temple  was  so  great,  that  five  other  congr^ations  were 
formed  in  the  open  air  around  the  building,  from  the  dense 
masses  who  had  thus  assembled  to  worship  the  Grod  of  their 
fathers.  Large  and  bountiful  subscriptions  were  entered 
into  by  the  Free  congregations  for  the  erection  of  new 
places  of  worship,  and  thus  Church  Extension  on  a  large 
scale  was  followed  out  in  Edinburgh;  the  Free  congrega- 
tions being  larger  than  those  remaining  in  the  Establish- 
ment. 

At  the  close  of  the  first  Free  General  Assembly,  a  dinner 
was  given  to  the  Moderator,  Dr.  Chalmers,  on  31st  May, 
at  the  Boyal  Hotel.  Dr.  Chalmers  remarked  that  the  usual 
mode  of  procedure  this  year  seemed  in  every  thing  to  have 
been  inverted.  Two  hundred  years  ago,  when  a  disruption 
took  place,  the  Commissioner,  the  Marqnis  of  Hamilton, 
rose  and  left  the  General  Assembly,  but  now,  the  Assem- 
bly rose  and  left  the  Commissioner,  the  Marquis  of  Bute; 
and  now  at  this  social  assembly,  the  enUrtamed^  was  made 
to  preside  over  the  entertainers.  This  distinguished  man 
was  here  seen  in  a  new  phasisy  presiding  over  a  large  dinner 


IS43.  ANNALS.  493 

par^y  a  scene  quite  calculated  to  bring  out,  as  it  did,  the 
rich  and  racy  humour  with  which  he  abounded  when  his 
bow  was  unbent.  Prior  to  the  Assembly  and  during  its 
course,  his  labours  both  executive  and  financial  had  been 
Herculean.  He  devised  tlieir  sustentation  fund,  and  pre- 
dicted what  he  liimself  said  was  nt  the  time  received  with 
^  a  leer  of  incredulity,"  but  has  since  been  nearly  realized, 
that  with  proper  exertions  it  would  produce  £100,000  per 
annum. 

On  6th  June,  the  Lord  Provost  announced  to  the  Town 
Council  as  patrons  of  the  University,  that  Dr.  Chalmers 
had  resigned  the  Professorship  of  Divinity,  when  he  re- 
remarked  that  at  any  time  the  loss  of  such  a  man,  one 
of  those  spirits  who  rarely  in  successive  generations  are 
given  to  the  world  for  the  accomplishment  of  some  great 
ends — the  loss  of  one  of  such  gigantic  intellect  could  never 
be  thought  of  without  regret.  But  if  in  any  circumstances 
that  loss  would  be  deplored,  surely  in  present  circumstances 
it  must  be  more  deeply  felt.  And  his  loss  was  the  more 
to  be  regretted,  seeing  that  it  was  not  because  of  infirmity 
— or  sickness — or  age,  but  because  he  felt  compelled  by 
conscientious  motives,  by  high  and  exalted  principles,  to 
give  up  those  emoluments  and  preferments  which  the  world 
valued  so  much,  and  that  the  excellency  of  his  character, 
his  piety,  his  simplicity,  his  unwearied  benevolence  had  won 
for  him  the  regard  and  esteem  of  every  right*thinking  man. 

On  10th  June,  J. 843,  there  was  a  public  promenade,  in 
the  Meadows  or  Hope  Park  on  the  south  side  of  the  city — 
tlie  object  was,  the  relief  of  tlie  unemployed  poor.  It  was 
a  gay  scene,  and  produced  £100  for  this  charitable  purpose. 

On  12th  and  13th  July,  1843,  very  large  meetings  were 
held  in  Edinburgh,  at  the  Canonmills  Hall,  commemorating 
the  Bicentenary  of  the  Westminster  Assembly.  The  recent 
events  in  the  Church  of  Scotland  tended  greatly  to  increase 
the  attendance  at  these  meetings,  and  the  subscriptions  for 
the  various  missionary  schemes. 


494  mSTORT  OF  edinbvbgh. 

Fe^er  had  become  prevalent  among  the  poor,  and  the 
Bojal  Infirmaiy  having  proved  inadequate  to  accommodate 
all  those  sn£fering  firom  it,  a  meeting  oF  the  inhabitants  was 
held  in  the  Assemblj  Booms,  George  Street,  31st  July, 
1843, — the  Lord  Provost  in  the  chair, — ^when  resolntiuiis 
were  passed  resolving  to  erect  a  separate  Fever  HospitaL 

The  working  classes  and  tradesmen  of  Edinburgh  held 
a  great  meeting,  on  the  evening  of  14th  December,  1843, 
at  Canonmills  Hall,  in  support  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scot- 
land, and  to  receive  the  deputations  who  had  visited  Eng- 
land in  its  behalf, — the  Lord  Provost,  Sir  James  Forrest,  in 
the  chair.  It  was  even  a  more  magnificent  meeting  than 
the  first  Free  Assembly  in  the  same  haU. — When  national 
enthusiasm  is  awakened,  as  at  the  Reformation,  the  Sevo- 
Indon,  and  the  Disruption  of  this  year,  the  public  mind 
is  stimulated  and  the  intellect  of  a  nation  is  aroused  firom 
its  ordinary  sleep. 

A  public  meeting  was  held  in  the  Music  Hall,  on  27th 
December,  1843, — the  Lord  Provost  presiding, — ^when  it 
was  agreed  to  erect  a  suitable  building  for  Baths  (or  the 
working  classes,  the  promotion  of  cleanly  habits  among  the 
trades  and  working  classes  being  essential  to  the  removal 
of  disease  and  the  general  improvement  of  that  large  and 
important  class  of  the  people. 

Musical  concerts  for  the  working  classes  at  a  cheap  rate, 
were  also  coomienced  at  this  period  in  Edinbuj^h.  It  was 
calculated  that  an  attendance  of  nearly  one  thousand  people 
was  requisite  to  repay  the  necessary  outlay.  Mrs.  Buske 
and  other  superior  vocalists  were  engaged  tor  these  perfor- 
mances, which  were  of  a  nature  to  elevate-  the  taste  and 
habits  of  the  trades  classes,  above  the  resorting  to  public 
houses  and  gin  palaces.  They  were  called  the  Musard 
Concerts. 

Another  irreat  Anti-Corn   Law  demonstratioa 

1844. 

was  held  in  the  Music  Hall,  11th  January,  1844, — 
the  Lord  Provost  presiding.    The  object  was  to  promote  a 


1844.  ANNAL&  495 

sabscription  for  the  fand  of  £100,000  then  fbrzning  in  aid  of 
this  cause.  Sichard  Cobden,  M.P.,  and  John  Bright,  M.P., 
both  spoke  with  great  energy  and  eloquence  in  behalf  of  this 
national  question. 

During  the  same  month  several  meetings  were  held  in 
Edinburgh,  to  support  a  scheme  suggested  by  Mr.  McDon- 
ald of  Blairgowrie,  for  raising  a  sum  of  £50,000  for  the  pur- 
pose of  establishing  five  hundred  new  schools  over  Scotland. 
Tins  scheme  was  adopted  by  the  Free  Church,  whose 
teachers  had  been  thrust  from  the  Established  schools  at  the 
Disruption,  and  the  sum  was  now  raised  without  any  di£S- 
culty. 

A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants,  called  by  the  Magistrates 
and  Town  Council,  took  place  in  the  Music  Hall,  29th 
March,  1844 — ^to  express  the  feelings  of  indignation  enter- 
tained at  a  sentence  of  death  having  been  passed  in  South 
Carolma,  against  a  young  man,  named  Brown,  for  simply 
aiding  a  female  slave  in  her  escape.  The  Lord  Provost, 
Black,  wrote  expressing  his  regret  at  being  unable  to  be 
present,  but  the  meeting  passed  strong  resolutions  on  the 
subject,  condemnatory  of  slavery  and  remonstrating  against 
this  horrible  case. 

C^oma0  eampbcll. 

Thomas  Campbell,  the  author  of  the  *  Pleasures 
of  Hope,'  was  bom  in  Glasgow,  27th  July,  1777, 
and  became  a  student  at  that  University  when  in  his  thir- 
teenth year.  He  was  afterwards  tutor  in  a  family  of  the 
same  nsme  in  the  island  of  Mull.  The  different  learned 
professions  attracted  his  attention,  but  he  went  to  reside  in 
Edinburgh  while  a  young  man,  and  general  literature  be- 
came his  occupation.  He  resided  then  at  St.  John's  Hill, 
South  Back  of  Canongate,  and  Brougham,  Cockbum,  and 
Cuninghame,  James  Gray  and  Dr.  Bobert  Anderson,  were 
among  his  early  associates.     The  poem  which  has  immor- 


496  mSTOBT  OF  edinbubgh. 

talized  his  name,  he  wrote  when  in  the  nineteenth  year 
of  his  age.  It  was  pnblished  in  1799,  and  dedicated  to  Dr. 
Robert  Anderson. 

Anzions  to  become  acquainted  with  Gkrman  literatnxey 
he  went  to  Hamburgh  in  1800,  and  was  a  spectator  of  the 
famous  combat  at  Hohenlinden,  3d  December  of  that  year, 
a  battle  he  has  commemorated  in  neyeEKlying  vene: 

^  On  Linden,  when  the  son  wm  low, 
All  bloodless  la j  the  untrodden  snow, 
And  daik  as  winter  was  the  flow 
Of  Iser,  rolling  rapidly  I" 

The  following  year  he  came  to  London  and  associated 
with  Macintosh,  Rogers,  Sydney  Smith,  and  other  eminent 
literary  men,  but  he  soon  returned  to  Edinburgh,  where  he 
resided  for  a  period  in  Alison  Square.  In  1803  he  was  mar- 
ried to  his  cousin.  Miss  Matilda  Sinclair  of  Greenock,  an  ele^ 
gant  and  accomplished  woman.  He  then  took  a  beautiful 
cottage  at  Sydenham  in  Kent,  near  the  site  of  the  present 
Cxystal  Palace,  where  he  resided  several  years,  and  was 
visited  by  many  of  his  countrymen,  who  deemed  it  an  honour 
to  meet  with  such  a  man.  His  ^  Annals  of  George  HI.  to  the 
peace  of  Amiens '  were  published  in  1808.  '  G^rtude  of 
Wyoming,'  *  Glenara,'  *  Lochiel,'  and  '  Lord  Ullin's  Daugh- 
ter,' all  appeared  the  following  year;  his  ^  Specimens  of  the 
British  Poets,'  in  1819.  He  became  editor  of  the  New 
Monthly  Magazine  in  1821,  and  some  ten  years  afterwards 
of  the  '  Metropolitan.'  In  1826  he  was  chosen  Lord  Sector 
of  the  University  of  Glasgow,  his  alma  mater.  Campbell 
visited  Africa  in  1832 ;  two  years  after  he  published  a  life  of 
Mrs.  Siddons.  At  a  later  period  he  occupied  chambers  at 
Lincoln's  Lin  Fields.  A  public  dinner  was  given  to  him 
in  Edinburgh  in  1836,  as  already  narrated. 

Campbell  died  at  Boulogne  15th  June,  1844. 

On  4th  July,  1844,  one  of  the  greatest,  wisest,  and  best 


1844.  ANKAL&  497 

men  of  the  nineteenth  centoxy^  oommenced  an  enterprise  in 
Ediuborgh,  of  which  he  was  then  a  citizen,  and  to  which  he 
devoted  the  principal  and  most  enthusiastic  energies  of  the  few 
remaining  years  of  his  life. — ^Dr.  Thomas  Chalmers  had  long 
thought  that  the  grand  fbndamental  principle  of  the  science 
of  Political  Economy  was  to  rev^  a  people,  whose  diaracter 
shonld  be  built  on  a  good  moral  and  religious  education,  that 
without  that  you  have  no  security  that  the  unprincipled  and 
uneducated  masses  would  not  sweep  away  the  different  orders 
of  the  state,  and  bring  about  an  universal  chaos.    These  views 
he  had  propounded^  in  Glasgow  nearly  thirty  years  before, 
and  he  now  commenced  a  friendly  invasion  of  one  of  the 
poorest  and  most  dissipated  districts  of  Edinburgh — ^the 
south-western  suburb,  called  the  West  Port — ^in  the  days  of 
the  royal  dynasty  of  the  Stuarts,  the  principal  entrance  into 
the  city  fix>m  the  north. — ^The  plan  on  which  he  proposed  to 
reduce  his  theory  to  practice,  was  what  he  called  the  terri- 
torial system.    Taking  a  district  consisting  of  a  population 
of  about  a  thousand,  and  with  a  staff  of  firiendly  agents  and 
visitors,  each  of  whom  took  charge  of  twenty  families — ^whose 
sympathies  they  endeavoured  to  enlist  in  behalf  of  sober 
and  religious  habits,  and  to  attend  to  the  education  of  their 
children,  thus  forming  a  school  for  the  district — then  a  sav- 
ings' bank — a  reading-room — and  ultimately  building  a  ter- 
ritorial church.     On  this  said  4th  of  July,  1844,  Dr.  Chal- 
mers, attended   by  a  few  friends,  commenced  this  great 
undertaking,  which,  if  universally  followed  out,  might  under 
Providence  be  a  great  means  of  regenerating  the  world. 
He  broke  ground  by  visiting,  personally,  a  few  old  matrons  of 
the  district,  kindly  inquiring  after  their  domestic  interests, 
and  then  looked  out  for  a  place  for  a  church  and  school.    On 
a  subsequent  day  an  old  decayed  tannery  was  obtained  gra- 
taitously  from  its  proprietor,  and  it  combined  in  its  own 
individuality,  both  church  and  school  for  a  year  or  two— 
and  a  juvenile  and  aged  congregation  was  thus  formed  in 

embryo.     Dr.  Chalmers  met  with  his  West  Port  friends 
^  2  I 


498  msTORT  OF  Edinburgh. 

every  Satordaj  evening,  at  which  meetings  they  disciuaed 
their  various  proceedings  for  the  improvement  of  the  locality. 
A  subscription  was  afterwards  obtained  to  build  a  church 
and  school  in  the  West  Port,  where  two  hundred  and 
fifty  scholars  now  daQy  meet,  and  every  Sabbath  a  de» 
voted  minister  and  home  missionary,  Mr.  Tasker,  officiates 
in  this  formerly  dissolute  but  now  reclaimed  district — the 
whisky  shops  and  publicans,  gradually  giving  way  to  coflee 
rooms,  and  nice  and  clean  lodging  houses  and  dwellings 
for  the  industrial  poor. 

The  members  and  friends  of  the  School  of  Arts  enter- 
tained Leonard  Homer,  the  founder  of  that  institution,  and 
brother  of  the  late  distinguished  statesman,  Francis  Homer, 
at  a  public  dinner  in  the  Hopetoun  Rooms,  5th  July,  1844, 
— the  Lord  Provost  Black  in  the  chair,  Profisssor  Wilson, 
croupier.  Mr.  Homer  said  he  had  no  claim  to  the  merit  of 
being  the  first  to  establish  a  place  of  instruction  for  the 
working  classes.  That  distinction  belonged  to  the  late  Pro- 
fessor Anderson  of  Glasgow,  the  founder  of  the  Ander- 
sonian  Institution,  but  the  School  of  Arts  in  Edinburgh 
had  given  a  great  impulse  to  all  the  mechanics'  institutes  in 
Great  Britain. 

Two  distinguished  and  favourite  citizens  of  Edinburgh, 
whose  remains  were  conveyed  to  the  same  cemetery  in  the 
same  month,  ten  years  afterwards,  took  a  part  in  the  pro- 
ceedings of  this  evening — Lord  Cockbum  and  Professor 
Wilson. 

The  Royal  Archers  held  a  wappen-schaw,  or  field  day, 
according  to  the  ancient  fiuhion,  on  16th  July,  1844,  in  the 
Hunter's  bog  or  valley,  Ijring  between  Arthur^s  Seat  and 
Salisbury  Crags.  The  scene  was  highly  picturesque,  there 
was  a  great  concourse  of  people. 

Frederick  Augustus,  King  of  Saxony,  visited  Edinburgh 
2d  August^  1844.  At  the  Parliament  House,  he  was  re- 
ceived by  the  Lord  Provost,  Black,  and  the  Lord  Advocate. 


1844.  ANNALB.  499 

His  Majestj,*  a  very  intelligent  man,  visited  the  Castle, 
the  Calton  Hill,  and  other  public  places  of  the  d^. 

The  freedom  of  the  city  was  on  8th  October,  1844,  con- 
ferred on  the  distinguished  chemist,  Plrofessor  Liebig  of 
Giessen.  The  Lord  Provost,  in  addressing  him,  said,  ^'  We 
honour  yon,  Sir,  as  one  of  the  benefactors  of  the  human  race, 
and  we  'consider  ourselves  honoured  in  numbering  you  among 
the  burgesses  of  Edinborgh." 

A  meeting  was  held  in  the  Music  Hall,  5th  February, 
1844,  of  the  subscribers  and  others  interested  in  the  monu- 
ment erecting  to  the  memory  of  Sir  Walter  Scott, — ^the 
Lord  Provost  Black  in  the  chair,  when  it  was  agreed  to  raise 
£3,000  additional  to  complete  the  building  to  the  height  of 
182  feet  on  the  original  design.  The  Marquis  of  Douglas, 
the  Marquis  of  Breadalbane,  and  Professor  Wilson  took  part 
in  the  proceedings. 

A  new  quarterly  review,  entitled  The  North  British 
Review,  supported  by  men  of  distinguished  talent,  appeared 
in  Edinburgh,  1st  May,  1844.  The  article  in  the  first 
number  on  Cuvier  was  by  Sir  David  Brewster,  that  on 
the  Com  Laws  by  Dr.  Chalmers,  and  tlie  one  on  Christian 
Morals  by  Dr.  Candlish. 

The  Crown  Prince  of  Denmark,  now  Frederick  VII., 
King  of  Denmark,  xdsited  Edinburgh  Ist  June,  1844, 
and  inspected  most  of  the  public  places;  he  was  entertained 
at  dinner  by  the  Lord  Provost  at  his  house  in  Drummond 
Place,  with  a  number  of  distinguished  officials. 

An  important  meeting  was  held  in  the  Waterloo  Booms, 
30th  October,  1844,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  an  addi- 
tional supply  of  water  to  the  city,  on  the  principle  of  con- 
stant service.  It  was  agreed  to  lay  a  line  of  pipes  along 
the  track  of  the  proposed  Caledonian  Railway,  for  twelve 
miles  from  the  city,  where  an  ample  supply  of  water  could 
be  obtained,  and  it  was  proposed  to  convert  tlie  existing 

*  This  excellent  prince  died  9th  Angott,  18M. 


500  HISTOHY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

Water  Company  into  a  pablic  trust  for  the  benefit  of  the 
city,  guaranteeing  that  Company  a  return  of  4^  per  cent,  per 
annum  on  their  capital.^^The  object  of  the  citizens  who 
attended  this  meeting  was  most  patriotic,  and  after  a  keen 
struggle  in  Parliament,  the  proceedings  resulted  in  a  full 
and  constant  supply  of  this  great  and  necessary  commodity 
of  life. 

The  Society  of  Antiquaries  presented  a  memorial  to  the 
Town  Council,  12th  November,  1844,  remonstrating  against 
the  removal  of  the  Trinity  College  Church,  which  it  was 
proposed  to  pull  down  to  make  way  for  the  North  British 
Railway  and  its  appurtenances.  This  proposition  the  society 
characterised  as  a  piece  of  Vandalism, — ^the  building  being 
a  fine  specimen  of  the  Gothic  architecture  of  the  fifteenth 
century. 

9x.  Hhtxwmbiff 

The  most  eminent  physician  in  Edinburgh  since 
Dr.  Gregory.  Dr.  John  Abercrombie  died  14th 
November,  1844.  He  was  bom  at  Aberdeen,  11th  Oc- 
tober, 1781.  He  began  to  practise  in  the  city  in  1803, 
and  gradually  rose  to  the  head  of  his  profession.  About 
1834  he  published  a  treatise  ^On  the  Moral  Condition 
of  the  Lower  Classes  in  Edinburgh.'  Their  amelioration 
was  one  of  the  objects  nearest  his  heart.  In  1835  he 
was  elected  Lord  Rector  of  Marischal  College,  Aberdeen. 
He  was  also  the  author  of  many  valuable  medical  and  reli- 
gious essays.  The  great  respect  entertained  for  his  char- 
acter was  testified  by  a  public  funeral  which  took  place  in 
the  West  Church  burying-ground,  20th  November,  1844. 

The  same  day  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  Hopetoun 
Rooms, — the  Duke  of  Buccleuch  in  the  chair, — in  aid  of  the 
scheme  for  supplying  baths  for  the  working-classes.  The 
Duke  stated  that  his  attention  had  been  for  some  time  drawn 


lUL  ANNAL&  501 

as  chairman  of  a  parliamentaiy  oommittee  to  the  best 
means  for  promoting  the  general  health  of  the  inhabitants 
of  large  towns;  and  one  of  the  greatest  detriments  was  the 
want  of  cleanliness^  not  only  as  regards  the  streets,  alleys, 
and  doses,  bnt  also  the  habitations  and  persons  of  the 
people,  and  without  a  constant  supply  of  water  this  could 
not  be  remedied — and  again,  the  erection  of  baths  was  a 
further  step  in  the  way  of  improvement — then  there  was  the 
want  of  proper  acconmiodation  for  the  washing  of  their 
clothes;  this  could  be  secured  by  the  erection,  at  a  small  cost, 
of  houses  or  places  for  the  purpose,  which  he  hoped  would 
be  done,  and  it  would  be  a  great  benefit  to  the  health  and 
comfort  oi  the  inhabitants.  Lord  Dunfermline  remarked 
that  in  any  attempt  to  improve  the  social  condition  of  the 
people,  it  was  of  great  importance  to  carry  along  with  them 
the  good  feeling,  indinatioui  and  desires  of  the  people 
themselves. 

Among  the  remarkable  ^aracters  who  visited  Edinburgh 
in  1844,  was  General  Tom  Thumb,  the  American  man  in 
miniature.  He  held  his  levees  in  the  Waterloo  Booms, 
which  w^re  numerously  attended  each  visitor  paying  the 
fee  of  one  shilling.  This  singular  boy,  who  seemed  an  in* 
teresting  and  clever  creature,  was  represented  as  being  in 
the  thirteenth  year  of  his  age.  .  He  was  twenty-five  inches 
in  height,  and  weighed  only  fifteen  pounds.  He  related 
his  own  history,  appeared  in  the  dress  of  Kapoleon,  in  full 
military  costume— -and  also  in  the  court  dress  in  which 
he  had  been  presented  to  the  -Queen.  His  carriage  was  a 
curionty,  and  was  frequently  to  be  seen  parading  the 
streets.  It  was  an  elegant  equipage,  of  a  size  adapted 
to  the  Lilliputian  to  whom  it  belonged.  It  was  drawn  by 
two  very  small  ponies,  with  a  coachman  and  footman  in  full 
livery. 

The  following  narrative  of  antiquarian  discoveries  ap* 
peared  in  November,  1844.  One  could  scarcely  have  ima- 
gined any  locality  in  the  city  becoming  so  changed: 


502  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

'^  For  some  months  paat  ezcayations  have  been  m^ 
near  the  Cowgate  for  the  foundation  of  a  suite  of  court- 
rooms to  accommodate  the  Lords  Ordinary.  The  buildings 
are  to  ran  soath  from  the  present  boildings  constitating  oar 
Courts  of  Law,  and  the  soath  wall  will  vei^  upon  the  spot 
where  many  of  our  readers  will  remember  the  Back  Stairs 
ascending  of  jore.  In  the  space  cleared  by  the  worirmen, 
a  fragment  of  the  first  wall  of  the  city  has  been  laid 
bare.  About  the  end  of  September,  some  much,  more 
recherckes  discoveries  were  made  by  the  workmen.  South 
from  the  fragment  of  wall,  and  directly  so  from  the  pre- 
sent buildings  for  the  first  and  second  divisions  of  the 
Court  of  Session — ^fourteen  feet  below  the  surface  of  the 
earth — was  found  a  range  of  strong  wooden  coffins,  ly- 
ing close  beside  each  other,  and  containing  human  re- 
mains. In  one,  the  skull  contained  the  brain,  still  so  far 
iresh  as  to  show  the  vermicular  form  of  surface.  These 
coffins  were  straight  in  the  sides,  but  had  lids  rising  into  a 
ridge  in  the  centre.  About  the  same  time^  ten  or  twelve 
yards  west  from  that  spot,  and  also  beyond  the  line  of  the 
city  wall,  the  workmen  found  embedded  in  the  ground, 
eighteen  feet  below  the  level  of  the  present  Cowgate,  a  com- 
mon-shaped barrel  of  large  size,  six  feet  high,  resting  on 
one  end,  and  eighteen  inches  deep  into  a  stratum  of  blue 
clay,  with  a  .massive  stone  beside  it;  leading  to  the  pre- 
sumption that  it  had  been  a  barrel  kept  for  the  purpose  of 
gathering  rain,  having  a  stone  step  to  enable  any  one  to  get 
to  its  top,  and  take  out  a  supply  of  its  contents.  The  staves 
of  this  barrel  are  still,  for  the  most  part,  fresh  and  sound. 
Still  further  to  the  west,  near  the  banrel,  and  at  about  the 
same  depth,  was  found  a  copper  dish  or  basin,  about  eighteen 
inches  diameter,  and  six  deep,  having  the  rim  slightly 
evasated.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  all  these  things  have 
lain  for  several  centuries  undisturbed.  The  bodies  would 
be  a  portion  of  those  interred  in  St.  Giles's  churchyard, 
which  was  abandoned  in  the  sixteenth  century*    The  barrel 


184a.  ANKALS.  503 

and  dish  must  have  beea  part  of  the  eurta  tupeUex  of  a  citi- 
zen  of  still  earlier  age.  The  Cowgate  existed  in  1470^ 
however  mnch  earlier, .  and  it  was  for  some  ages  the  resi* 
denoe  of  the  great.  So  large  a  copper  dish  could  only  he- 
long  to  a  person  of  some  distinction.  Bat  the  most  cnrions 
inference  from  these  discoveries  is  as  to  the  gradual  rise  of 
the  level  of  the  street  in  the  course  of  time.  Some  years 
ago,  a  street  was  found  twelve  feet  below  the  present  cause* 
way  of  the  Cowgate,  near  its  eastern  extremity;  here  we 
find  household  articles  seated  still  lower.  This,  however,  is 
common  in  all  ancient  cities,  in  consequence  of  the  want  of 
police  regulations  in  the  middle  ages.  Befdse  and  rubbish 
were  laid  upon  the  street,  and,  not  being  removed,  soon  be- 
came trodden  down,  and  thus  raised  the  soil.  Even  pave- 
ments were  thus  lost  sight  of.  Fresh  accumulations  con- 
tinually taking  place,  the  ground  rose  of  course,  and  in  time 
the  bases  of  buildings  were  accommodated  to  the  new  level.*' 
Among  the  excavations  in  Edinburgh  none  could  appear 
more  extraordinary  than  the  formation  of  a  tunnel  firom  the 
old  locality  of  Canal  Street  to  Scotland  Street.  Such  a  pro- 
cess at  one  time  could  scarcely  have  been  imagined,  but  at 
this  period  of  railways,  it  was  actually  accomplished — after 
laborious  and  expensive  engineering.  Considerable  alarm 
at  one  time  during  its  formation  was  felt  for  the  safety  of 
the  houses  in  Scotland  Street,  their  foundation  being  on  a 
sandy  soil,  and  in  November,  1844,  foor  men  were  drowned 
by  the  iiruption  of  water  into  the  tunnel  at  Dublin  Street. 
To  mark  the  change  and  improvement  in  some 
respects,  in  the  customs  and  manners  of  the  people, 
it  may  be  mentioned  that  on  New  Yearns  day,  1845,  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  thousand  people  visited  the  Zoological 
Gardens  at  Broughton,  a  suburb  of  the  city— a  rational  and 
instructive  exhibition,  which  had  recently  been  established 
.there;  and  in  the  evening,  a  soiree  was  given  to  the  work- 
ing classes  at  the  West  Fort  for  the  purpose  of  improving 
their  habits  and  directing  their  attention  to  a  better  way, 


504  fnSTOBT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

than  to  the  public  hoiuey  and  thej  seemed  to  enjoy  vefj 
much  the  sensible  and  intellectual  objects  to  which  their 
minds  were  called. 

On  Sabbath  forenoon,  19th  January,  1845,  the  Old 
Grrejrfiriars  church  was  obserred  to  be  in  flames.  This  was 
one  of  the  oldest  churches  in  the  city,  part  of  it  being  built 
in  1612,  and  part  in  1719.  The  fire  was  occasioned  by  the 
overheating  of  the  flue  of  a  stove,  and  the  smoke  issued  in 
dense  masses,  finding  an  emission  by  a  circular  stair  between 
the  Old  and  New  Greyfinars  churches,  that  had  originally 
led  to  the  belfiy  in  the  steeple  of  this  church,  which  was 
blown  up  with  gunpowder  in  1718.  This  conflagration 
at  one  time  presented  a  very  grand  appearance,  contrasting 
with  the  usual  quiet  of  the  day.  The  destruction  of  the 
church  was  complete,  and  the  walls  have  now  stood  for 
years, — a  picturesque  and  neglected  ruin. 

Mr.  Catlin,  the  author  of  a  valuable  work  on  the  Indians 
of  North  America,  brought  a  group  of  fourteen  loway  In- 
dians to  Edinburgh,  m  January,  1845,  who,  under  his  direc- 
tion, exhibited  in  the  Music  Hall  their  various  war-dances, 
songs,  and  games.  This  interesting  exhibition  proved  a 
great  attraction  to  the  citizens. 

On  27th  January,  1845,  Lord  Robertson  granted  an 
interdict  prohibiting  the  erection  of  a  monument  to  the  me- 
mory of  Muir,  Palmer,  Starving,  Gerald,  and  Margarot,  in 
the  Old  Calton  burying-ground.  The  question  came  before 
the  first  division  of  the  Court  of  Session  for  revision,  on  the 
4th  March.  The  Lord  President,  Boyle,  was  of  opinion,  that 
the  interdict  should  be  continued, — Lord  Mackenzie  was 
of  an  opposite  opinion.  Lord  Fullerton  said,  the  traitors  of 
one  age  were  the  patriots  and  martyrs  of  another.  In  one 
of  the  oldest  and  most  fi:«quented  burying-grounds  of  the 
city  there  were  to  be  found  the  monuments  of  political 
martyrs  and  convicted  traitors,  whose  sentences  had  never 
been  reversed,  but  quite  the  contrary;  but  it  could  not  be 
denied  that  though  their  bodies  had  been  consigned  to  the  dust, 


1845.  ANKALa  505 

the  spirit  which  animated  their  conduct  lived  and  would  live. 
He  was  against  the  interdict. — ^Lord  Jeffirey  said,  the  monu- 
ments to  Montrose  and  Argyll  in  the  Grejfriars  church- 
yard had  been  very  feelingly  alluded  to— men  who  arraigned 
each  other  in  their  lives,  who  fought  in  adverse  ranks  for 
what  they  respectively  deemed  the  public  good, — who  both 
perished  on  the  scaffold — and  whose  memories  were  respected 
by  every  generous  reader  of  history. — Who  would  object  to 
the  pious  labours  of  Old  Mortality  among  the  scattered 
tombs  of  the  unfortunate  Covenanterst — ^After  the  lapse  of 
fifky  years,  when  all  the  subjects  which  were  agitated  in  these 
proceedings  were  at  an  end — ^when  there  were  few  who  sur- 
vived, had  any  recoUection  of  the  feeling  and  temper  which 
.then  prevailed — ^when  two  generations  had  since  grown  into 
life — ^when  there  was  a  new  state  of  the  law,  and  a  new  dis- 
tribution of  political  privileges,  when  new  objects  of  interest 
had  sprung  up,  and  new  topics  of  contention  been  intro- 
duced; he  could  not  but  think  that  any  person  who  chose, 
might  be  allowed  to  commemorate  the  sufferings  of  these 
men  without  any  risk  of  farther  commotion,  or  exciting  in 
the  breast  of  a  single  individual,  a  hatred  of  the  British  con- 
stitution. He  thought  that  such  a  monument  should  sug- 
gest even  to  those  who  differed  from  their  views  and  opinions, 
thoughts  mainly  of  a  solemn  and  sobering  character,  instead 
of  feelings  of  anger  at  their  supposed  errors.  If  there  is  any 
place  where  the  influence  of  the  scene  should  tend  to  soften 
down  our  feelings  to  a  more  humane  and  indulgent  standard, 
it  is  surely  the  place  where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling 
and  the  weary  are  at  rest — where  every  thing  reminds  us  of 
our  fi^il  mortality,  and  of  the  seat  of  judgment  before  which 
none  of  us  shall  be  justified  except  through  mercy! 

The  Court  decided  that  the  interdict  should  be  recalled. 
There  is  a  fine  tone  of  calm  and  religious  philosophy  per- 
vades this  discussion,  which  it  is  pleasing  to  survey  after  the 
turmoil  of  political  contention. 


506  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBUBQH. 

% 

Sydney  Smith  was  bom  at  Woodford,  Essex, 
1771.  He  was  sent  to  school  at  Winchester,  where 
he  was  tortured  and  half  starved,  and  composed  above  ten 
thousand  Latin  verses.  He  came  to  Edinburgh  in  1797 
with  a  pupil  of  the  name  of  Beath.  Here  he  became  ac- 
quainted with  JeSrejy  Homer,  Brougham,  Murray,  Leyden, 
Playfair,  and  Dugald  Stewart.  After  two  years  of  domicile 
there,  he  returned  to  England  and  married  Eate  Pyrus, 
to  whom  he  gave  six  small  skeletons  of  silver  teapspoons  as 
all  his  fortune.  He  returned  to  Edinburgh,  and  in  1802, 
along  with  Jeffrey,  Brougham,  and  a  few  others,  originated 
the  Edinburgh  Review.  He  edited  the  first  number.  In 
1804  he  unwillingly  parted  with  his  early  band  of  friends  in. 
Edinburgh  and  settled  in  London.  Previous  to  that  he  oc- 
casionally preached  for  Bishop  Sandford,  in  his  old  chapel 
at  the  west  end  of  Rose  Street,  near  Charlotte  Square.  He 
obtained  the  living  of  Foston-le-CIay  in  Yorkshire  in  1806. 
In  his  remarks  on  occupation  here,  he  says,  <^  It  is  impossi- 
ble to  support  for  any  length  of  time,  a  state  of  perfect 
ennui.  A  stockbroker  or  a  farmer  have  no  leisure  for 
imaginary  wretchedness;  their  minds  are  usually  hurried 
away  by  the  necessity  of  noticing  external  objects,  and  they 
are  guaranteed  from  that  curse  of  idleness,  the  eternal  di»* 
position  to  think  of  themselves.***  He  revisited  Eklinburgh 
and  his  old  friend  Jeffrey  in  1820.  He  was  appointed  to  a 
prebendal  stall  at  Bristol,  by  Lord  Lyndhnrst  in  1828,  and 
about  three  years  afterwards,  he  was  transferred  to  one  at 
St.  Paul's.  Sydney  Smith  died  22d  February,  1845.  Be 
was  a  man  of  the  most  inventive  wit  and  genius — he  was 
full  of  happy  vivacity,  and  his  wit  was  generally  of  a  bene- 
volent cast — he  had  a  talent  for  making  all  around 


•  Momoir  of  tlia  B^t.  Sj^dbj  Smith  bj  his  dnghtar,  IjiOj  HbOaai— 
S  roU.,  Longnuun,  London.  1866— n  book  fUl  of  imntriiig  «ad  intarMting 
aiModote. 


1845.  AKKAL8.  507 

happy;  instead  of  being  a  dealer  b  difficulties,  he  was  a 
dealer  in  sweets,  casting  aronnd  him  happy  ideas  and  doing 
deeds  of  love  and  kindness.  His  conversation  was  a  perfect 
flow  of  sparkling  wit.  It  was  a  high  compliment  paid  to 
liim  by  Mr.  Everett,  that  ^^  if  he  had  not  been  known  as 
the  wittiest  man  of  his  day,  he  would  have  been  accounted 
one  of  the  wisest.**  When  in  Edinburgh,  speaking  of  the 
Dean  of  Faculty,  he  said  to  a  lady,  *^  We  think  our  deans  in 
England  have  no  faculties.** — Some  one  anxious  to  explain  to 
him  about  the  Scottish  Elirk  aflFairs,  Smith  stopped  him 
laughing,  and  said,  ^'  I  did  understand  a  little  about  it  yester- 
day, before  you  undertook  to  explain  it,  but  now  my  mind 
is  like  a  London  fog  on  the  subject.** 

The  first  volume  of  the  Edinburgh  Review  contained  nine 
articles  by  Sydney  Smith. 

The  jubilee  or  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  Edinburgh  Sub- 
scription Library,  was  celebrated  by  a  dinner  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  association  at  the  CsSi  Koyal,  7th  March,  1845, 
— ^David  Murray,  Esq.,  president  This  institution  now  oc- 
cupied elegant  and  commodious  apartments  in  the  new 
building,  erected  by  the  Life  Assurance  Company  in  George 
Street,  and  the  number  of  members  was  400,  being  a  joints 
stock  proprietary  for  the  purpose  of  diffusing  a  taste  for  lit- 
erature and  the  perusal  of  standard  works. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Town  Council,  11th  March,  1845, 
it  was  proposed  by  Mr.,  afterwards  Sir  William  Johnston, 
to  widen  the  North  Bridge  by  raising  the  sum  of  £5,000 
from  voluntary  contributions  for  that  purpose.  He  said  the 
Bridge  was  daily  traversed  by  85,000  foot  passengers,  and 
1,800  carriages,  and  that  within  fifteen  months  it  would  be 
the  centre  of  three  great  railway  termini^  and  that  to  these 
tailway  companies  he  would  give  a  handsome  stair  at  each 
end  of  the  Bridge  for  the  accommodation  of  their  passengers. 

The  proposal  was  approved  of  by  the  Council. 

The  railway  department  of  the  Board  of  Trade  issued, 


508  HISTORT  OF  EDmBUBGH. 

13th  March,  1845,  a  very  able  report  on  the  schemes  for  ex- 
tendiDg  railway  conunanication  in  Scotland.  They  con- 
sidered Edinburgh,  Glasgow,  and  Perth  as  the  three  great 
points  determining  the  direction  of  the  leading  railways, 
Ediubni^h  as  the  capital  and  seat  of  the  Courts  of  Jostice 
and  the  XTnirersity.  The  North  British  Railway  firom 
Edinburgh  to  Berwick,  sanctioned  by  Parliament  in  1844, 
would  evidently  be  the  great  eastern  line  from  Edin- 
burgh to  London*  The  Scottish  Central  from  Edinburgh 
to  Perth  and  Stirling,  was  viewed  as  the  trunk  line  for 
the  North  of  Scotland,  and  the  Caledonian  line  was  also 
recommended  to  Parliament.  This  able  document  was 
principally  drawn  up  by  the  Earl  of  Dalhousie,  then  Pre- 
sident of  the  Board  of  Trade. 

A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  in  the  Council 
Chambers,  20th  March,  1845, — for  the  purpose  of  forming 
an  Association  to  promote  the  Sanitary  Improvement  of  the 
city.  It  was  remarked  that  the  slaughtering  of  animals 
ought  to  be  removed  from  the  city  to  the  suburbs,  and  that 
the  practice  of  making  large  sewers  pour  their  contents  into 
the  Water  of  Leith,  ought  to  be  abolished,  and  that  there  is 
a  beautiful  analogy  between  the  relations  of  town  and  coun- 
try. That  which  animals  rejected  as  unnecessary  for  their 
support,  was  found  to  be  exceedingly  useful  for  the  vege* 
table  world,  and  what  the  plant  rejected  for  its  support  was 
valuable  to  the  animal  economy — a  free  trade,  therefore, 
should  subsist  between  town  and  country.  A  plan  had 
been  projected  to  bring  sea  water  from  Leith,  which  it  was 
calculated  would  cost  about  £2,000,  and  by  forming  re- 
servoirs at  the  heads  of  the  great  drains  they  could  be  kept 
always  flush.  The  Association  would  also  encourage  the  for- 
mation of  joint-stock  companies  for  building  more  commodi- 
ous, airy,  and  convenient  houses  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  working-classes,  who  would  speedily  avail  themselves  of 
such  dwellings  and  improve  in  their  habits.  The  first 
resolution  of  the  meeting  was  to  the  following  effect: — 


184&  ANKALS.  509 

^*  That  from  the  crowded  and  otherwise  objecdonable  posi- 
tion of  the  houses  in  many  parts  of  the  Old  town  of  Edin- 
burgh— light  and  air  are  to  a  great  extent  excluded;  while 
from  the  inadequate  supply  of  water  and  total  absence  of 
sewers  in  these  localities,  filth  is  accumulated  in  and  around 
the  dwellings  of  the  working  classes  and  the  poor,  which  added 
to  the  density  of  the  population,  occasions  much  sickness, 
mortality,  and  pauperism,  and  that  degradation  of  character 
which  is  usuaUy  attended  by  reckless  disregard  of  the  de- 
cencies of  life.  That  it  is  desirable  tbat  a  state  of  things  so 
full  of  reproach  to  an  enlightened  and  Christian  people 
should  be  amended,  and  the  means  aiforded  to  the  working 
classes  of  Edinburgh,  of  obtaining  domestic  accommodation 
suitable  in  comfort,  salubrity,  and  propriety.'' 

A  meeting  of  the  Governors  of  Heriot's  Hospital  was 
held  31st  March,  1845,  when  a  statement  of  great  impor- 
tance fix>m  the  special  committee  was  brought  before  them. 
The  conclusion  of  the  report  was  that  many  serious  evils 
and  defects  existed  in  the  present  system  of  the  Hospital. 
First,  suUenness  in  the  general  deportment  of  the  boys; 
2d,  A  want  of  self-dependence  among  them;  3d,  Ignorance 
of  the  most  ordinary  modes  and  usages  of  society;  4th,  The 
existence  of  pernicious  habits  among  them.  The  committee 
recommended  a  reconstruction  of  the  sleeping  apartments, 
each  to  occupy  a  separate  bed,  and  each  room  placed  under 
the  charge  of  a  superintendant;  additional  facilities  to  the 
House  Governor  in  gaining  the  affections  and  moral  govern- 
ment of  the  boys;  enlarged  and  regulated  intercourse  with 
society  beyond  the  walls  of  the  Hospital.  After  a  good  deal 
of  discussion  it  was  carried  by  18  to  16  to  recommit  this 
report.  One  great  defect  of  these  Edinburgh  hospitals  is 
that  the  children  are  not  only  educated,  but  sleep  ^thin  the 
walls.  It  would  probably  be  a  great  improvement  to  edu- 
cate them  there  throughout  the  day,  and  board  them  either 
Avith  their  parents,  when  they  are  respectable  and  well-con- 
ducted, or  i^nth  decent  widows  or  others,  where  they  would 


510  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

be  well  cared  for,  and  to  whom  the  sam  paid  for  their  main- 
tenance would  be  a  great  benefit. 

A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  in  the  Waterioo 
Booms,  2d  April,  1845, — ^to  petition  Parliament  for  the 
abolition  of  the  existing  tests  imposed  on  Professors  of  the 
Scottish  IJniyersities, — ^the  Hon.  Fox  Maule,  M.P.,  James 
Moncreiff,  afterwards  Lord  Advocate,  &c.,  present.  Mr. 
Moncreiff  remarked,  that  from  the  days  of  "  Starry  Gralileo  " 
down  to  those  of  one  worthy  to  be  his  successor.  Sir  David 
Brewster,  such  tests  had  never  produced  any  other  residts 
than  those  which  sprung  from  narrow-minded  bigotry. 

On  the  following  evening,  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants 
was  held  in  the  Boyal  Hotel, — the  Lord  Provost,  Black, 
presiding; — for  the  purpose  of  forming  an  association  for 
the  Protection  of  the  rights  of  the  public  and  the  citizens  of 
Edinbui^h,  to  the  Boads  and  Bye-ways  in  and  around  the 
city.  It  was  remarked  that  there  was  no  country  where  so 
much  had  been  done  by  the  people  and  so  little  for  them,  as 
in  Scotland.  In  despotic  countries,  such  as  Austria,  Prus- 
sia, Bavaria,  and  Saxony,  collections  pf  art  which  the  muni- 
ficence of  centuries  had  gathered  were  open  to  all  ranks. 
Here,  proprietors  objected  to  throwing  open  tiieir  grounds 
fur  fear  the  privilege  would  be  abused,  their  trees  up- 
rooted, or  their  fences  destroyed.  But  it  is  found  the  more 
fireely  they  are  admitted  to  such  privileges,  the  less  danger 
exists. 

A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  against  the  proposed  endow- 
ment of  the  Roman  Catholic  College  of  Maynooth,  took 
place  in  the  Waterloo  Booms,  8th  April,  1845.  The  chair- 
man of  the  meeting,  Mr.  Duncan,  said,  that  in  his  opinion 
the  only  way  to  do  justice  to  Ireland,  was  to  abolish  the 
Episcopal  establishment  in  that  country. 

A  great  boon  at  this  period,  1845,  was  conferred  on  the 
city,  by  the  formation  of  several  new  and  beautiful  ceme- 
teries in  the  suburbs — the  Southern  or  Grange  Cemetery, 
the  Western  or  Dean  Cemetery,  and  the  Edinburgh  and 


1845.  AKNAL&  511 

Leith  Cemetery.  Prior  to  the  projection  of  these  extra- 
miural  burying  gFounds^  many  of  those  in  the  city,  6o<ih  as 
the  Greyfriars  and  St.  Cathberts,  had  become  overcrowded, 
and  consequently  deleterious  to  the  health  of  the  city. 

j^  Dr.  David  Welsh  died  24th  April,  1845.  He 
was  bom  at  Braefoot  near  Mo£Bit,  11th  April,  1798. 
In  1806  he  was  a  pupil  at  the  High  School  of  Edinburgh 
with  Dr.  Carson,  and  at  the  College  he  became  a  member 
of  a  debating  club  of  students,  called  the  Logical  Society, 
and  in  1811  he  entered  as  a  theological  student,  and  five  years 
after  was  licensed  as  a  preacher.  He  was  ordained  minister 
of  Crossmichael  in  Dumfries-shire  in  1821.  While  there, 
he  wrote  the  life  of  Dr.  Thomas  Brown,  the  late  distin- 
guished Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  Edinburgh  Uni- 
versity; which  was  published  in  1825.  He  was  appointed 
minister  of  St.  David's  church,  Glasgow,  in  1827,  and  con- 
tinued four  years  there,  when  he  accepted  the  Church 
History  chair  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  He  be- 
came Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly  at  the  critical 
period  of  1842,  and  conducted  the  proceedings  at  the  Dis- 
ruption the  following  year.  After  that  event  he  resigned  his 
University  chair,  and  was  appointed  to  a  similar  Professor- 
ship in  the  New  College.  He  also  for  some  years  filled  the 
situation  of  Secretary  to  the  Bible  Board.  As  a  preacher, 
his  sermons,  some  of  which  were  published,  are  logical  and 
lucid.  As  a  metaphysician  he  was  acute;  and  as  a  man  of 
literature,  of  a  highly  polished  and  cultivated  mind. 

A  banquet  was  given  to  Alexander  Dunlop,  Esq.,  Advo- 
cate, in  the  Music  Hall,  29th  April,  1845,  in  testimony  of 
the  esteem  and  regard  entertained  for  him,  and  his  having 
i-ecently  contested  the  representation  of  Greenock  on  the 
Anti-Maynooth  question.      About  five  hundred  gentlemen 


512  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

were  present  on  this  occasion, — Sir  James  Forrest,  Bart., 
in  the  chair.  Mr«  Dnnlop,  in  acknowledging  the  tribute, 
said  he  looked  on  it  as  a  great  Protestant  demonstration. 
He  had  always  advocated  the  principle  of  granting  the  Bo- 
man  Catholics  the  same  civil  rights  as  the  Protestants 
claimed  for-themselves— and  instead  of  looking  on  the  Irish 
church  as  advancing  the  cause  of  Protestantism,  it  seemed 
a  barrier  in  the  way.  It  was  at  present  an  incubus  on  Ire- 
land.— >yhile  he  held  tlie  principle  of  establishments,  he 
maintained  that  if  government  were  to  act  on  the  rule  that 
it  mattered  not  whether  truth  or  error  was  endowed,  he 
would  say  rather  sacrifice  the  principle,  and  endow  no  reli- 
gious sect. — The  Rev.  Thomas  Guthrie  said,  he  considered 
the  Irish  church  as  an  incubus  and  an  insult — and  a  bar  to 
the  progress  of  truth. 

The  new  Normal  School,  or  Institution,  Castle  Terrace, 
near  the  Victoria  Hall,  was  opened  19th  May,  1845, — the 
children,  numbering  between  400  and  500,  being  transferred 
from  the  old  school  in  Market  Street.  Thei'e  were  now 
150  schools  in  connexion  with  the  education  scheme  of  the 
Greneral  Assembly.  The  design  of  planting  these  Assembly 
schools  began  with  Dr.  Chalmers  in  1824.  This  large 
handsome  building,  with  the  interior  Aimishings,  cost  about 
£10,000. 

Prince  Henry,  son  of  William  H.,  King  of  the  Nether- 
lands, visited  Edinburgh  6th  June,  1845.  He  arrived  at 
Leith  Beads  in  a  fiigate,  which  he  commanded.  He  in- 
spected many  of  the  public  buildings  and  institutions  in  the 
city,  and  was  entertained  by  the  chief  Magistrate.  These 
visits  of  members  of  the  royal  families  of  Europe  to  various 
countries,  is  a  feature  of  the  growing  intelligence  of  the 
times,  and  is  calculated  to  diffuse  an  enlarged  view  of  the 
improvements  occurring  in  modem  society. 

The  Trinity  Hospital,  a  curious  relic  of  early  times, 
founded  in  the  fifteenth  century  by  Queen  Mary  of  Gueldres 
— and  Canal  Street,  a  street  built  at  the  west  side  of  the 


1845.  .^^.^':'     AKNAL&  518 

Nardi  Bridge  area,  .^ta[  )x>ih  polled  down  in  Maj  and 
Jone,  1845.  The  mmaiiB  of  the  Trinity  Hoapital,  aD  aged 
persons,  were  how  .boazd^  xmij  instead  of  being  domiciled 
in  one'bmlding«>-a  ^eij- decided  improvement  on  the  old 
monastic  systent* 

The  oTOthrow  of  these  baildings  was  to  make  waj  for  the 
railway  termini,  and  their  corresponding  lines,  east  and 
west  of  the  North  Bridge — in  the  ravine  below  it,  so  well 
adapted  for  the  entrance  of  these  iron  highways  into  this 
ancient  citv.  A  tunnel  for  the  North  British  railway 
through  the  southern  flank  of  the  Calton  Hill,  was  also  ao* 
tively  progressing  during  the  same  year. 

Lord  John  Bussell  was  presented  with  the  freedom  of  the 
city  in  the  Music  Hall,  Sd  November,  1845,  before  a  bril- 
liant audience.  The  Lord  Provost,  Black,  addressed  him 
in  a-sensible. speech  on  this  occasion,  in  which  he  referred 
to  the  •principal  features  in  Lord  John's  historj*  as  a  states- 
man. ;Iti  reply,'  this  youngest  burgess  of  the  city  said,  that 
be  owed  an  important  part  of  his  education  to  Edinburgh — 
that  when  a  student  at  the  University,  he  resided  with 
Professor  Playfair,  and  that  after  engaging  in  abstract  cal- 
culations on  the  density  of  the  earth,  he  had  often  had  the 
pleasure  of  accompanying  that  learned  man  in  his  walks 
among  the  sublime  and  romantic  landscapes  that  abound 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  their  beautiful  city.  Here  also, 
he  had  heard  the  doctrines  of  Moral  Philosophy  adorned 
by  the  eloquence  of  Dugald  Stewart — ^had  admired  in  Henry 
Mackenzie,  a  green  old  age,  softened  by  the  liveliness  and 
spirit  which  are  ordinarily  the  accompaniments  of  youth — 
and  had  enjoyed  the  acquaintance  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  whose 
works  have  now  become  as  familiar  on  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi,  as  in  all  parts  of  Europe. 

The  same  day  the  Senatus  Academicus  of  the  University, 

unanimously  conferred  tlie  degree  of  LL.D.,  on  this  their 

distinguished  alumnus. 

That  mysterious  and  formidable  visitant^  the  potato  dis- 

2  K 


514  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUKGH. 

ease,  appeared  in  the  autamn  of  1845^  and  exercised  a  most 
powerful  inflaence  on  the  practical  political  economj  of 
Britain,  and  perhaps  of  the  world.  Fear  of  famine  in  Ire- 
land,  and  veiy  high  prices  of  provisions,  were  now  prevail- 
ing.— Sir  Robert  Peel,  then  prime  minister,  had  summoned 
Cabinet  Council  after  Cabinet  Council,  and  the  Com  Laws 
were .  understood  to  be  shaking  to  their  foundation,  when 
Lord  John  Bussell,  on  22d  November,  1845,  addressed  a 
letter  from  Douglas's'  Hotel,  Edinbui^h,  to  his  constituents 
in  London,  in  which  he  stated  that  his  views  on  this  subject 
had  undergone  a  great  alteration;  he  had  formerly  thought 
corn  was  an  exception  to  the  general  rules  of  political 
economy,  he  was  now  convinced  there  should  be  no  inter- 
ference with  the  supply  of  food. 

A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  to  memorialize  the  Queen 
to  direct  her  ministers  to  open  the  ports  of  the  United  Eang- 
dom,  for  the  free  admission  of  foreign  grain  and  provisions, 
was  held  in  the  Music  Hall,  2d  December,  1845, — ^the  Lord 
Provost,  Black,  presiding.  Mr.  Macaulay,  M.P.  for  the 
city,  delivered  a  splendid  oration  on  the  occasion,  in  fiivour 
of  free  trade.  He  said,  he  had  alwajrs  considered  the  prin- 
ciple of  protection  to  agrictdture  as  a  vicious  principle,  and 
he  had  stated  to  Lord  Melbourne  five  years  ago,  when  he 
invited  him  to  join  his  government,  that  in  or  out  of  ofSice 
he  must  vote  for  a  total  repeal  of  the  Com  Laws. 

Another  distinguished  man  of  the  day  received  the  free- 
dom of  the  city,  4th  December,  1845 — Admiral  Sir  Charles 
Napier.  The  Lord  Provost,  Blacic,  on  presenting  it,  al- 
luded to  Sir  Charles  and  he  being  at  the  High  School  to- 
gether, when  the  boys  engaged  in  mock  battles.  The  gal- 
lant officer  replied,  that  he  left  the  High  School  and  went 
to  sea  at  an  early  age,  but  that  afterwards  he  had  the 
pleasure  of  attending  the  College,  and  studying  under  Play- 
fair  and  Dugald  Stewart. 

In  the  then  anxious  state  of  matters  in  the  Cabinet  re- 
garding Free  Ti*ade,  Lord  John  Russell's  letter  on  the 


1S46.  AKKALS.  ,         515 

Com  Laws,  dated  from  Edinburgh,  to  his  London  conadtn- 
ents,  bad  the  effect  of  a  bomb  ^ell,  in  Britain.  On  Sab- 
bath,  7th  December,  184.5,  the  ex-premier  was  sitting  quietly 
hearing  sermon  from  Mr.  Gathrie,  in  Free  St.  John*s 
church,  Edinburgh,  when  a  Queen's  messenger  was  on  his 
way  to  his  lordship,  summoning  him  to  the  presence  of  his 
sovereign,  to  consult  regarding  the  formation  of  a  new 
ministry.  Lord  John  left  Edinburgh  on  the  following 
Tuesday,  and  the  day  after.  Sir  Robert  Peel  resigned,  but 
afi«r  a  negotiation  to  form  a  new  ministry,  so  many  diffi- 
culties presented  themselves,  that  it  was  deemed  better  Sir 
Bobert  Peel  should  be  recalled  to  office,  to  cany  the  repeal 
of  the  Com  Laws,  which  probably  no  other  minister  but  he 
could  have  effected.  And  this  great  event  he  did  ac- 
complish in  the  course  of  a  few  months. 

A  meeting  was  held  at  Tanfield  Hall,  CanonmiUs,  11th 
December,  1845,  about  4,000  present, — ^the  Hon.  Fox 
Maule,  now  Lord  Panmure,  in  the  chair.  It  was  announced 
that  £80,000  had  been  subscribed  to  erect  manses  for  the 
Free  Church  ministers,  throughout  Scotland,  chiefly  through 
the  exertions  of  Dr.  Guthrie. 

<The  Dukes  of  Buccleuch,  from  the  vicinity  of 

1846.  . 

their  residence  at  Dalkeith,  have  generally  been 
considered  somewhat  as  Edinburgh  citizens.  Duke  Walter 
was  gazetted  as  Lord  President  of  the  Council,  2d  Januai*}*, 
1846,  and  continued  in  that  high  office  during  the  few  re- 
maining montlis  of  Sir  Bobert  Peel's  ministry. 

£ai*ly  in  1846,  the  large  building  in  the  centre  of  Drum- 
mond  Place,  used  as  tlie  Custom  House,  was  pulled  down. 
This  was  formerly  Bellevue  House,  belonging  to  Greneral 
Scott,  and  at  one  time  stood  in  the  centre  of  a  large  lawn 
surrounded  with  trees.  In  tlie  beginning  of  the  century  it 
was  almost  the  only  house  standing  where  the  present 
northern  part  of  the  New  town  is  situated, — all  north  of 
Queen  Street  being  then  open  ground. 


516  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUSGH. 


Sbit  caiaUam  mabr,  l4itB  Slenler, 

One  of  the  most  aged  and  respected  citizens  of 
^^*  Edinburgh,  died  9th  May,  1846,  Sir  William  Miller 
of  Glenlee,  Bart  He  was  bom  in  1755.  He  was  the  only 
son  of  Sir  Thomas  Miller,  Lord  President  of  the  Conrt  of 
Session — ^passed  Advocate  in  1777,  and  sat  for  a  short 
period  in  the  House  of  Commons  as  member  for  Edinburgh 
in  1780 — ^was  promoted  to  the  bench  on  the  death  of  Lord 
Henderland  in  1795,  and  ranked  very  high  in  his  judicial 
character.  In  general  literature  and  mathematics  he  was 
also  an  accomplished  scholar,  and  was  distinguished  for  the 
great  benignity  of  his  character.  He  was  one  of  the  last 
gentlemen  and  citizens  of  the  old  school.  While  other  patri- 
cians had  all  removed  to  the  New  town,  Lord  Glenlee  re- 
tained his  old  mansion  in  Brown  Square  to  the  last,  and 
used  regularly  to  be  seen  walking  from  his  house  there  down 
Crombie's  Close,  across  the  Cowgate,  up  the  back  stairs  to 
the  Parliament  House,  with  his  qui^t  gentle  smile,  pursuing 
his  o£Bcial  duties  at  an  age  beyond  the  common  lot  of 
hxunanity. 

Nearly  three  centuries  had  now  elapsed  since  the  period 
of  the  great  Scottish  Reformer,  John  Knox — and  Edin- 
burgh, the  chief  scene  of  his  labours,  was  still  without  a 
monument  to  his  memory.  In  1826  a  proposal  for  one  near 
the  County  HaU  was  made  in  the  Edinburgh  Times  news- 
paper, but  Mr.  Trotter,  the  then  chief  Magistrate,  himself  a 
descendant  of  Knox,  was  anxious  to  have  a  church  erected 
to  his  memory,  and  at  his  request  the  following  out  of  the 
proposal  was  delayed.  Again  in  1829,  as  already  narrated, 
the  foundation  of  a  John  E!nox  church  was  laid  at  the 
Castlehill — this  also  became  abortive,  but  on  18th  May, 
1846,  a  public  procession  took  place,  and  the  foundation- 
stone  of  a  monumeiit  or  chm*ch  to  his  memory  was  laid  by 


18i6.  AKNAI&  £17 

Mr.  CampbeD  of  Monzie,  on  the  rite  adjaoeDt  to  the  ancient 
domicile  of  Ejioz  at  the  Netlierbow. 

The  fonndation-Btone  of  the  new  CoD^^  of  the  Free 
Church  was  laid  8d  Jane,  1846,  by  Dr.  Chalmers.  Abont 
three  hundred  gentlemen  breakfasted  together  at  the  Bojal 
Hotel  on  the  occasion,  and  afterwards  joined  in  prooesrion 
to  the  head  of  the  Moond,  where  this  beautiful  edifice  is 
now  erected  from  a  design  by  Playfair,  and  will  prove  a 
great  ornament  to  the  city. 

The  North  British  railway  from  Edinburgh  to  Berwick 
was  opened^  18th  Jane,  1846, — ^the  Magistrates  and  Coun- 
cil, and  a  numerous  assemblage  accompanying  the  Directors. 
The  journey  was  accomplished  in  beautiful  style.  The  line 
passes  through  much  interesting  scmery.  The  speed  at 
which  the  train  went  astonished  travellers  of  the  old  school: 
^^  and  panting  time  toiled  after  them  in  vain."  A  splendid 
collation  was  given  on  the  occasion  at  the  station  at  Dunbar, 
Eagie  Henderson,  Esq.,  the  deputy  chairman,  preriding. 

Dr.  Chalmers  laid  the  foundation-etone  of  the  Territorial 
church  $t  the  West  Port,  SOtb  June,  184&  He  delivered 
an  interesting  address  on  the  occasion. 

Sir  Robert  Peel  having  resigned  as  prime  minister,  on 
27th  June,  1846,  Lford  John  Bussell  was  sent  for  by  the 
Queen,  and  again  fcMined  an  administration — ^the  two  mem- 
bers for  the  city  of  Edinburgh  being  appointed  to  office  in 
the  new  government,  Mr.  Macaulay  as  Paymaster  of  the 
Forces,  and  Mr.  William  Gibson  Craig  as  one  of  the  Lords 
of  the  Treasury,  a  new  election  became  necessary.  The  latter 
was  unanimously  re-elected  on  13th  July,  and  the  following 
day,  Mr.  Macaulay  was  also  re-elected  by  a  majority  of  908, 

For  Mr.  Macanlaj,  1,785 

For  Sir  Calling  EardleT  Smith,  BarU,  832 

The  Monument  to  Sir  Walter  Scott  was  inaugurated  on 
his  natal  day,  15th  August,  1846.  The  day  was  held  as  a 
holiday  in  the  city.    A  masonic  procession  took  place,  which 


51 S  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

met  the  civic  authorities  at  the  Monument.    Lord  Glen- 
Ijon,  the  Grand  Master,  addressed  the  Lord  Provost  on  the 
unveiling  the  beautiful  marble  statue  by  Steell,  of  Sir 
Walter  Scott    The  reply  of  the  Lord  ProTost,  Black,  was 
in  excellent  taste  and  keeping  with  the  occasion,  and  was  as 
follows:   ^^I  congratulate  jou  and  the  countrymen  of  Sir 
Walter  Scott,  on  now  seeing  placed  on  its  pedestal,  in  this 
magnificent  monument,  a  statue  worthy  of  its  shrine.    This 
tribute  of  a  nation's  gratitude  to  one  of  the  most  honoured 
of  her  sons,  adds  a  new  feature  of  beauty  and  of  grace  to  his 
native  city,  but  the  halo  of  his  genius  sheds  a  far  greater 
lustre  over  the  name  of  Edinburgh  and  of  Scotland.     As 
one  burning  torch  not  only  illuminates  the  sphere  of  its  own 
brightness,  but  kindles  the  latent  fire  in  others,  so  who  can 
tell  how  many  dormant  spirits  have  been  roused  to  arduous 
and  successful  exertion  by  the  honourable  example  of  Scott; 
even  here,  we  see  how  the  glowing  genius  of  the  poet  has 
stirred  the  soul  of  the  architect,  and  awakened  the  talents  of 
the  sculptor,  whose  skilful  chisel  has  moulded  the  rude  block 
into  the  all  but  breathing  form  and  features  of  Scotland's 
darling  son.    The  sister^-arts  of  architecture  and  sculptui'e 
here  vie  with  each  other  in  presenting  the  richest  ofierings 
to  the  genius  of  poetry,  history,  and  romance,  and  they  are 
themselves  signally  honoured  in  combining  to  honour  him 
who  has  contributed  so  largely  to  the  instruction  and  enjoy- 
ment  of  the  human  race.     This  Monument  and  Statue, 
admirable  for  beauty  and  durability,  I  trust  will  long  adorn 
our  city;  but  though  they  crumble  into  dust,  the  author  of 
Waverley  has  reared  for  himself  monuments  of  more  sur- 
passing beauty,  and  more  lasting  endurance  and  more  ex- 
tensive celebrity.    The  forked  lightning  may  dash  these 
turrets  to  the  ground,  the  tooth  of  time  wiU  corrode  these 
marble  features,  but  over  the  monuments  of  his  mental  crea- 
tion the  elements  have  no  power — ^those  will  continue  to  be 
honoured  at  home  and  under  distant  and  more  genial  skies. 
Continents  as  yet  unexplored  will  be  taught  by  the  wisdom 


1S46.  AKNALB.  519 

of  Scott  and  enlivened  by  his  wit,  and  rivers  unknown  to 
song  will  resound  with  ^e  lays  of  his  minstrelsy,  but  no- 
where will  his  memory  be  cherished  with  fonder  attachment 
and  more  endnring  delight  than  in  the  cities  and  the  ham- 
lets of  his  own  beloved  Scotland.** 

In  the  evening)  a  public  dinner  took  place  in  the  Music 
Hall,  in  commemoration  of  the  event  There  were  about 
five  hundred  gentlemen  presents— the  Lord  Provost  pre- 
siding. 

In  September,  1846,  it  was  proposed  to  purchase  the  Silk 
Mills  on  the  banks  of  the  Canal,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  dty, 
and  convert  them  into  a  new  charity  work-house,  but  on 
consulting  an  architect  it  was  found  the  expense  would  be 
too  great;  it  was  therefore  resolved  by  the  city  parochial 
board  to  build  a  large  wing  in  addition  to  the  existing 
Charity  Work*house,  and  also  an  industrial  school  on  the 
ground  adjoining,  and  thus  obtun  the  increased  accommo- 
dation necessary,  under  the  working  of  the  new  Poor  Law 
Act. 

A  Philosophical  Association  was  commenced  in  Edin- 
burgh in  1832,  for  the  purpose  of  affording  lectures  on 
literature,  science,  and  art,  by  distinguished  men,  to  the  citi- 
zens. This  Association  was  now  greatly  enlarged  in  its  scope, 
under  the  name  of  the  Philosophical  Institution.  A  large 
building  was  purchased  for  a  public  reading-room  and 
library  in  connection  with  it,  and  it  rapidly  became  one  of 
the  most  popular  institutions  in  the  city,  being  in  reality  a 
popular  college,  and  tending  to  increase  a  taste  for  literature 
and  science.  A  public  entertainment  to  celebrate  its  estab- 
lishment was  held  in  the  Music  Hall,  4th  November,  1846, 
—the  Lord  Provost,  Black,  presiding.  On  this  occasion 
the  Bight  Hon.  T.  B.  Macaulay  made  a  splendid  speech 
on  the  literature  of  Britain;  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin, 
Dr.  Whateley,  and  other  distinguished  literary  men  were 
present,  and  took  part  in  the  proceedings. 
.    A  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was  held  in  the  Music  Hall, 


520  HIBTOBT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

18th  December,  1846, — ^the  Lord  Pnnrost,  Black,  presiding, 
—to  conaider  the  destitute  state  of  the  popidation-  in  the 
Highlands  and  Islands  of  Scotland,  caused  by  the  failure  of 
the  potato  crop.  It  was  stated  to  the  meeting  that  330,000 
of  the  population  were,  through  the  failure  of  this  staple 
commoditj,  placed  in  danger  of  wanting  the  adequate  means 
of  sustenance.  It  was  agreed  to  commence  a  public  sub- 
scription for  the  relief  of  the  sufferers. 

On  a  jury  trial  that  took  place  in  Edinburgh,  December, 
1846,  regarding  the  copjrright  of  the  Preliminary  Disser- 
tations on  the  Progress  of  Moral  and  Political  Philoeophj, 
written  by  Dugald  Stewart  for  the  £ncyclop»dia  Britannica, 
it  appeared  that  the  cost  of  bringing  out  the  seventh  edition 
of  that  great  work  amounted  to  £125,000,  consisting,  among 
others,  of  the  following  items: 


Contributioiu  and  Editing, 

£22,500 

Printing,             . 

18.500 

Stereotyping, 

3,300 

Paper,     .                        .  .          . 

28.000 

Bookbinding, 

12,700 

Engraving  and  Plate  printing. 

12,000 

A  public  meeting  of  the  proprietors  of  Scottish 
entailed  estates,  was  held  in  the  Waterioo  Booms, 
4th  March,  1847, — the  Lord  Provost,  Black,  in  the  chair. 
The  object  was  to  petition  Parliament  for  a  modification  of 
the  law  of  Entail  in  Scotland.  It  was  remarked  on  the  oc- 
casion, that  scarcely  anything  more  absurd  could  be  con- 
ceived than  th^t  the  earth  which  was  given  to  all  should  be 
trammelled  and  tied  up  by  one  generation  for  another,  and 
that  entails  had  been  found  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  in 
the  improvement  of  the  land — and  they  often  led  to  splendid 
poverty  in  families.  In  1764,  the  Faculty  of  Advocates  had 
condemned  the  system  of  entails.  The  meeting  adopted 
strong  resolutions  on  the  subject. 
The  most  important  question  of  modem  times  is  perhaps 


1847.  AKNALS.  521 


that  of  nadonal-  education. — ^The  Marqais  of  Lianadowiie, 
the  Lord  President  of  the  Privy  Council  in  the  new  cabinet, 
had  stated  that  the  great  difBcoltj  the  government  (At  on 
the  sabject,  was  the  religions  differences  and  divisions  among 
Dissenters.  No  pkn  coold  be  devised  to  meet  the  views  of 
ally  thej  therefore  felt  it  impossible  to  propound  anj  national 
scheme.  They  conld  only  give  additional  support  and 
efficiency  to  schools  already  existing.  But  this  aroused 
the  jealousy  of  the  Voluntaries,  deeming  the  plan  calcu- 
lated to  support  the  ecclesiastical  establishments  of  the 
country.  A  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  opposed  to 
this  scheme  of  the  govemment|  was  held  in  the  Music  Hall, 
31st  March,  1847,*— WDliam  Duncan,  Esq.,  in  the  chair, 
— ^when  strong  resolutions  were  adopted  against  the  minis- 
terial plan. 

The  Bev.  Thomas  Guthrie  brought  out  a  powerful  and 
eloquent  pamphlet,  entitled  ^  A  Plea  for  B^ggeA  Schools; 
or  Prevention  better  than  Cure,'  which  deservedly  attracted 
so  much  attention,  that  in  1847  it  had  reached  its  third 
edition.  The  exordium  of  this  brochure  is  not  only  so  elo- 
quent on  its  own  immediate  subject,  but  so  picturesquely 
descriptive  of  the  Scottish  metropolis  as  to  be  highly  inter- 
esting.   It  is  as  follows: 

'^  On  approaching  Edinburgh  firom  the  west,  after  the 
general  features  which  distance  presents,— dome,  and  spire, 
and  antique  piles  of  building,  the  Castle  standing  in  the 
foreground,  while  Arthur  seat  raises  its  lion-like  back  be- 
tween the  city  and  the  sea, — ^the  first  object  which  attracts 
the  eyes  of  a  stranger  is  a  structure  of  exquisite  and  sur- 
passing beauty.  It  might  be  a  palace  for  our  Queen  ^-Hit  is 
an  hospital.  Near  by,  embowered  in  wood,  stands  an  edi- 
fice of  less  pretensions,  but  also  great  extent: — ^it  is  another 
hospital.  Within  a  bow-shot  of  that,  again,  some  fine  open 
towers  rise  firom  the  wood  over  a  fair  structure,  with  its 
Grecian  pillars  and  graceful  portico: — ^it  is  another  hospital. 
Now  in  the  city,  and  wheeling  round  nigh  to  the  base  of  the 


522  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

Castle  rock,  he  drives  oa  by  Laoriston. '  Not  far  away,  on 
the  oatskirts  of  the  town,  pleasantly  planted  in  a  beaatifiil 
park  bordered  with  trees,  stands  an  old-fashioned  building: 
— ^it  is  another  hospital.  In  his  way  along  Laariston,  within 
a  stone-cast  of  him,  his  eye  catches  the  back  of  a  large  aiid 
spacious  edifice,  which  looks  beaatifidly  oat  on  the  Meadows, 
the  low  Braid  Hills,  and  the  distant  Pentlands: — it  is  another 
hospital.  A  few  tarns  of  the  wheel,  and  before  him,  :within 
a  fine  park,  or  rather  ornamental  garden,  stands  the  finest 
stractore  of  oar  town, — a  master-piece  of  Inigo  Jones, — 
with  a  princely  revenae  of  £15,000  a-year: — it  is  another 
hospitaL  The  carriage  now  jostles  over  a  stone;  the  stran- 
ger turns  his  head,  and  sees,  bat  some  hundred  yards  away, 
a  large  Dutch-like  structure,  stretching  out  its  long  lines  of 
windows,  with  the  gilded  ship,  the  sign  of  commerce,  for 
weather-vane,  on  its  summit: — that  is  another  hospitaL 
Our  friend  concludes,  and  not  without  some  reason,  that, 
instead  of  the  ^  Modem  Athens,'  Edinburgh  might  be  called 
the  City  of  Hospitals.** 

.  The  proposed  government  scheme  of  Education  was  dis- 
cussed by  the  Town  Council,  6th  April,  1847.  The  Lord 
Provost,  Black,  proposed  the  following  resolutions: — 

1.  ^^  That  where  a  people  is  ignorant  and  uneducated,  the 
state  is  not  only  deprived  of  the  beneficent  finiits  of  know- 
ledge and  virtue,  which  might  have  been  secured  by  a  due 
attention  to  their  culture,  but  is  exposed  to  the  calamities 
and  crimes  which  naturally  result  firom  ignorance  and  un- 
controlled passion. 

2.  ^^  That  while  it  is  the  duty  of  the  state  to  build  prisons, 
and  employ  officers  to  restrain  and  punish  offenders,  its  pri- 
mary duty  is  to  take  measures  for  preventing  crime,  and  for 
improving  the  social  condition  of  the  people;  and  as  it  may 
be  questioned  how  far  any  state  has  a  right  to  punish  guilt 
resulting  from  ignorance,  if  it  has  not  provided  the  means 
by  which  all  classes  may  be  daly  instructed,  it  is  the  opinion 


1847.  ANNALS.  523 

of  this  corporation  that  every  support  should  be  given  to  a 
comprehensive  system  of  National  Edacation. 

3.  ^  That  a  perfect  system  of  state  education  would  be 
one  in  which  all  religious  denominations  could  unite,  with- 
out interfering  with  principles  held  sacred  by  opposing  sects, 
and  that  it  is  much  to  be  regretted,  that  from  the  consci- 
entions  convictions  of  the  religions  communities  in  this 
country,  it  has  been  found  impossible  to  devise  a  scheme  of 
instruction  in  which  they  could  all  be  harmoniously  united. 

4.  ^  That  this  Corporation,  without  expressing  its  entire 
approval  of  the  present  plan,  are  sensible  of  the  difficulties 
which  the  government  has  had  to  encounter  in  prq>aring  a 
scheme  for  a  national  system  of  education;  and  believing, 
that  in  the  present  temper  of  the  country,  it  is  not  in  the 
power  of  man  to  devise  a  plan  which  would  give  satisfaction 
to  all  parties,  they  willingly  accept  of  the  boon  now  offered, 
and  trust  that  such  improvements  may  be  in  future  engrafted 
on  the  system  as  will  make  it  still  more  efficient  and  accept- 
able.'' 

The  Lord  Provost  then  remarked,  that  in  1833,  in  the 
face  of  a  violent  opposition,  the  Irish  system  of  National 
Education  was  carried,  and  at  that  time  the  Dissenters 
nobly  sustained  their  character  as  friends  of  knowledge  and 
religion,  by  supporting  that  great  measure.  In  1829  the 
Committee  of  the  Privy  Council  on  Education  was  estab* 
lished,  and  they  tried  various  schemes,  which  were  aban* 
doned.  The  proposal  now  was,  that  if  any  party  purposing 
to  get  up  a  school,  come  fonpi'ard  with  £100,  the  govern- 
ment will  give  assistance  to  the  same  amount;  and  if  they 
give  their  teacher  £40  a^-year,  the  government  will  give 
£20;  and  if  £50,  £25;  and  if  £60,  £30.  It  was  to  be  la- 
mented that  the  jealousies  and  distinctions  of  sects  have 
formed  so  formidable  a  barrier  to  the  exertions  of  the  govern- 
ment. He  considered  that  it  would  have  been  a  happier 
arrangement  could  we  have  had  Protestant  and  Catholic, 
Episcopalian  and  Presbyterian,  Methodist  and  Independent, 


524  HISTORY  OF  EDIKBITB6H. 

Jew  and  Gentile,  in  the  same  school,  bat  he  feared  this 
woold  be  expecting  the  lion  and  the  lamb  to  lie  down  tcw 
gether. — ^Were  it  attempted  to  establish  snch  schools,  it 
wonid  be  necessary  that  the  Bible  shonld  not  be  read  in 
them,  no  catechiam  taught,  and  no  religions  instmction 
conunnnicated.  What  a  nniyersal  howl  wonld  arise  from 
John  o'  Groat's  House  to  the  Land's  End.  The  Chnrch  of 
England  would^rise  against  it  en  massej  and  the  Chnrch 
of  Scotland,  with  the  Free  Church  and  the  Methodists, 
would  join,  and  a  lai^  portion  of  the  Dissenters.  Could  any 
ministry  carry  such  a  measure?  The  opposition  to  this  plan 
was  against  any  interference  by  the  State  in  the  education  of 
the  people. 

The  resolutions  of  the  Lord  Provost  were  carried  by  the 
narrow  majority  of  12,  against  11. 

The  subject  of  Ragged  or  Industrial  Schools  had  excited 
much  attention  for  a  considerable  period,  and  Mr.  Guthrie^s 
name  has  become  inseparably  connected  with  them  from 
his  powerful  production,  and  his  subsequent  labours  in  this 
important  cause.  A  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  was 
held  8th  April,  1847,  in  the  Music  Hall,  for  the  purpose  of 
instituting  Bagged  or  Industrial  Schools  in  the  city, — the 
Lord  Provost,  Black,  in  the  chair.  Mr.  Guthrie  moved  the 
first  resolution :  ^^  That  there  is  a  large  number  of  destitute 
neglected  children  in  this  city,  who,  having  no  regular  means 
of  living  nor  any  moral  superintendence  on  the  part  of  their 
parents  or  relatives,  are  allowed  to  grow  up  in  habits  of 
vagrancy  and  crime, — that  this  class  forms  the  great  and 
increasing  source  of  that  extensive  juvenile  delinquency, 
which  is  the  disgrace  of  our  large  towns,  and  that  there  is 
an  urgent  call  upon  all  who  wish  well  to  the  communis,  to 
take  immediate  steps  to  redeem  this  great  social  evil  by  re- 
claiming these  children,  and  providing  the  means  of  raising 
their  condition,  and  enabling  them  to  lead  an  honest  and 
useful  life.''  He  then  stated  that  he  had  underrated  the 
number  of  houseless  children  in  estimating  them  at  1,000; 


1S47.  ANNALS.  625 

he  beUeved  they  in  reality  amounted  to  between  l,fiOO  and 
2,000.  He  remembered  when  engaged  in  planning  tbeee 
Industrial  Schools,  in  coming  up  the  Candkmaker  Bow  one 
night  about  ten  o'clock,  he  heard  the  07  of  a  child— a  most 
bitter  ay  that  filled  that  silent  and  lonely  street.  ^  A  wo- 
man," said  he,  ^^  rapidly  passed  me,  as  I  reached  a  boy  seven 
or  eight  years  of  age,  sobbing  and  crying  bitterly.  On  ask- 
ing him  what  made  him  cry,  he  replied,  ^Ah,  Sir,  my 
mother  is  running  away  to  leare  me.' — ^I  felt  so  excited,  that 
I  immediately  gave  chase  to  the  woman,  and  having  over- 
taken her,  I  made  her  stay  till  the  boy  came,  and  when  he 
did  come  np,  sobbing  and  crying,  and  complaining  of  that 
tnonster  mother,  she  turned  round  and  hit  him  a  blow  on 
the  face,  that  made  the  child  reel  and  stagger.**  Mr.  Guthrie 
said  he  felt  it  wrong  to  place  a  child  at  the  bar  of  justice, 
who  had  been  neglected  by  society  as  well  as  his  parents. 
They  might  as  well  place  a  lunatic  there  as  such  a  child. 
They^  were  not  criminals ;  there  was  a  crime  committed,  but 
the  party  brought  there  was  not  the  crin)inal,  and  hence 
they  heard  the  call  for  such  institutions  coming  fj'om  the  seat 
of  justice  itself.  He  then  proceeded  to  show  how  the  nation 
would  save  much  by  expending  money  in  the  prevention 
of  crime  in  preference  to  expending  it  on  its  punishment. 

Soon  after  the  institution  of  this  original  Ragged  School, 
a  number  of  gentlemen,  who  had  been  parties  to  its  forma- 
tion, including  Lord  Dunfeinnline,  Lord  Murray,  and 
others,  who  thought  that  the  education  was  so  conducted 
there  as  to  preclude  the  children  of  Roman  Catholics  being 
sent,  opened,  in  November  the  same  year,  a  United  In- 
dustrial School  in  South  Gray's  Close,  where  the  religious 
instruction  of  the  Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic  children 
was  given  separately. 

The  foundation-stone  of  the  Caledonian  Railway  station 
terminus  at  Edinburgh,  was  laid  at  the  Lothian  Road,  9th 
April,  1847,  by  the  Duke  of  Atholl,  Grand  Master  Mason 


626  HI8T0BT  OF  EDU^BCHGE. 

0T06t  and  Magis- 


trateS)  and  the  Directon  of  the  railway. 

Two  large  Presbyterian  bodies  in  Scotland,  the  United 
Aisociate  Sjnod,  comprehending  twen^-fonr  Presbyteries^ 
and  the  Belief  Chnrch,  composed  of  nine  Presbyteries,  formed 
a  onion,  and  met  to  celebrate  this  event  at  Tanfield  Hall, 
Canonmills,  13th  May,  1847.  The  different  bodies  went 
together  in  procession,  and  upwards  of  S^OOO  persons  were 
assembled  there.  The  designation  now  adopted  by  the  body 
was  <<  The  United  Presbyterian  Chorch  "  or  Synod. 


A  inreat  sensation  was  produced  in  Edinburirh  on 

1847  a  I  « 

3l8t  May,  1847,  by  the  sudden  death  of  Dr.  Chal- 
mers, who  had  retired  the  evening  before  in  good  health,  at 
his  own  house.  Church-hill,  in  the  southern  suburbs  of  the 
city.  This  distinguished  man  had  only  returned  firom  Eng- 
land a  few  days,  where  he  had  been  examined  before  a 
Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  Refusal  of 
Sites  for  Free  Churches. 

Dr.  Chalmers  was  bom  at  Anstruther,  17th  March,  1780, 
and  towards  the  latter  end  of  the  century  studied  at  St. 
Andrews  University.  He  became  assbtant  at  Cavers, 
Roxburghshire,  in  1801,  and  the  following  year  was  ap- 
pointed minister  of  Kilmany,  and  also  for  some  seasons  de- 
livered a  brilliant  course  of  lectures  on  Chemistry  and 
Mathematics  at  St.  Andrews.  In  1815  he  became  min- 
ister of  the  Tron  church,  Glasgow,  where  he  delivered 
his  ABtix>nomical  Discourses,  productions  which  excited 
great  admiration,  and  would  of  themselves  have  stamped 
fiune  on  the  author.  He  speedily  became  the  most  distin- 
guished preacher  of  modem  times.  When  in  London,  he 
was  followed  by  crowds  comprising  men  of  the  highest  rank 
and  the  greatest  genius  of  the  age.  With  his  ardent  and 
benevolent  spirit  his  labours  in  Glasgow  were  so  multi- 


1M7.  ANNAL&  527 

tudinoos  that  his  health  was  giving  way,  and  he  accepted, 
in  1823,  the  Professorship  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  the 
University  of  St.  Andrews,  a  chair  he  filled  five  years,  till 
his  appointment  as  Professor  of  Theology  in  the  University 
of  Edinburgh.  His  speech  on  the  Catholic  Claims  in  1829 
was  deemed  the  very  acme  of  modem  eloquence;  Jeffrey 
said  it  reminded  him  of  the  effects  of  Cicero  and  Demos- 
thenes's  orations.  In  1884  he  was  elected  a  corresponding 
member  of  the  Royal  Institute  of  France,  and  he  read  a 
paper  before  that  distinguished  body  in  1838.  At  the  Dis- 
ruption  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  1843,  he  was  the 
powerful  and  leading  spirit — guiding  them  in  their  business 
affairs  by  his  practical  sagacity.  In  the  latter  years  of  his 
life  he  devoted  himself  to  his  favourite  pursuit,  the  amelio- 
ration of  the  lower  classes  of  society,  and  furnished  what 
may  be  a  model  to  all  large  cities,  in  the  Territorial  Schools 
and  church  at  the  West  Port.  A  public  funeral  was  ac- 
corded to  him  in  the  Southern  Cemetery,  4th  June,  1847. 

A  public  meeting  of  the  friends  of  Christian  Union  was 
held  in  the  Music  Hall,  14th  June,  1847.  It  was  a  crowded 
and  interesting  meeting — the  object  being  Evangelical  Alli- 
ance and  Christian  Union,  instead  of  division  into  small 
sects. 

The  Grand  Duke  Constantine,  son  of  the  Emperor  of 
Russia,  visited  the  city,  26th  July,  1847,  and  inspected 
several  of  the  public  institutions;  and  during  the  same  sum- 
mer, Edinburgh  was  also  visited  by  Prince  Waldemar  of 
Prussia,  and  Prince  Henry  of  the  Netherlands. 

For  some  time  the  leading  British  statesmen  of  both  par- 
ties had  manifested  opinions  favourable  to  the  endowing  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  clergy,  as  the  best  mode  of  governing 
Ireland.  On  the  dissolution  of  Parliament,  in  July,  1847, 
this  roused  the  feelings  of  the  country  against  endowing 
error,  and  along  with  a  variety  of  other  subsidiary  reasons, 
created  a  very  determined  opposition  in  Edinburgh  to  the 


528  mnoRT  of  £d»bubgh. 

re-deetum  of  the  Bigbt  Hon.  Tboc  Babbgtoo  MKSnIftr, 
who^  If  a  member  of  the  obincty  came  in  fiar  his  share  of 
this  obloqnj. 

The  electors  conseqiiently  brought  forward  as  a  candidatey 
an  independent  private  citizen  of  business  habitsy  Mr.  Charles 
Cowan^  whom,  to  the  sstonishment  and  dismay  of  the  Whig 
partj;  thej  carried  bj  an  overwhelming  majoritj  against  die 
accomplished  orator  and  statesman. 

At  the  election,  30th  Jolj,  1847,  the  result  of  the  p(A 
stood  thus:— Cowan,  2,063;  Gibson  Craig,  1,854;  Macao- 
lajt  1,477;  Blackbam,  980. 

A  young  Scottish  nobleman  of  considerable  abilitj  was 
appointed  Governor  General  of  India  at  this  period — ^the 
Earl  of  Dalhousie.  In  1835,  as  ahreadj  narrated,  when 
Lord  Ramsaj,  he  was  brought  forward  as  a  candidate  to 
represent  Edinburgh  in  Parliament,  and  he  remarked 
the  citizens  had  rocked  his  political  cradle  rather  roughly. 
A  public  dinner  was  given  to  Iiim  in  the  Music  Ebdl,  14th 
September,  1847,  on  his  appointment  to  the  greatest  vice- 
regal government  in  the  world, — the  Duke  of  Buccleuch 
in  the  chair.  Lord  Dalhousie  had  the  good  sense  to  state 
that  bis  former  treatment  by  the  citizens  of  Edinburgh  had 
been  of  great  service  to  him,  as  a  favourable  reception  then 
might  have  rendered  him  a  spoiled  child. 

Lord  Aslilej,  now  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  an  active  and 
philanthropic  nobleman,  visited  the  Bagged  Schools,  Bam- 
say  Lane,  15th  October,  1847,  and,  in  the  course  of  an  ex- 
cellent speech,  deprecated  what  he  would  call  the  Hospital 
system,  which  prevailed  in  Edinburgh — by  which  children 
were  separated  from  their  parents  and  their  homes — whereas 
it  was  well  known  that  much  good  was  often  done  by  the 
reflective  influence  of  well-trained  children  on  their  parents. 
— Mr.  Guthrie  said  if  he  had  the  power,  he  would  turn 
every  Hospital  in  Edinburgh  into  a  Bagged  School. — Lord 
Ashley,  the  same  day,  visited  the  Territorial  church  and 
schools  at  the  West  Port,  established  by  Dr.  Chalmers, 


1848.  A17KAIA  529 


where  there  were  ihree  handred  children  under  tuition,  af- 
fording an  excellent  practical  example  of  the  system  he  had 
recommended.  He  also  visited  the  model  lodging  houses 
for  the  poor  at  the  West  Port  and  the  Cowgate— which 
have  worked  so  well  in  the  dty  for  the  improvement  and 
improved  accommodation  of  the  poor. 

9t*  flltlDtctD  ft0tlAt* 

Dr.  Andrew  Combe  was  bom  in  Edinburgh, 
1797,  in  a  locality  tlie  name  of  which  no  longer  ex- 
ists, bnt  was  then  designated  Livingston's  yards.  It  lay 
on  the  south  under  the  rock  of  Edinburgh  Castle,  dose  by 
the  scene  where  tournaments  were  held  in  the  days  of  yore. 
His  father  carried  on  a  brewery  there.  Andrew  was  edu- 
cated at  the  High  School  and  University  of  Edinburgh, 
and  served  his  apprenticeship  with  Mr.  Johnstone,  surgeon; 
he  afterwards  studied  at  Paris,  and  commenced  medical 
practice  in  Edinburgh  in  1828. 

^  The  Prindples  of  Physiology  applied  to  the  preservation 
of  health,  and  to  the  Improvement  of  Physical  and  Mental 
Education,'  was  published  in  1834,  and  had  a  circulation  of 
upwards  of  thirty  thousand  copies.  '  The  Physiology  of 
Digestion  considered  with  relation  to  the  principles  of  Die- 
tetics,' appeared  in  1886.  Both  of  these  works  are  of  ex- 
cellent practical  utilit}*,  and  so  full  of  the  principles  of  com- 
mon sense  as  in  many  cases  almost  to  supersede  the  con-- 
sultation  of  a  medical  man.  Dr.  Combe  was  appointed 
Physidan  in  Ordinary  to  the  Eling  and  Queen  of  Bdgium 
in  1886,  and  resided  for  some  time  at  Brussds,  but  on  ac- 
count of  his  health  returned  to  Edinburgh, — where  he  died 
in  1847. 


The  Caledonian  Railway,  which  proceeds  from 

Edinburgh  to  Carlisle,  by  way  of  Currie,  Carstairs, 

Svmington,  and  Beattock,  was  opened  for  public  thorough- 

2  L 


530  HI8T0RT  OF  EDIKBUSaH. 


fate  on  15th  February,  1848, — the  entij  to  Edinbmrgfa 
being  at  the  Lothian  Bead* 

In  Febrparjr,  1848,  it  waa  propoacd  by  the  goremmeDt 
to  raiae  the  Income  Tax  firom  3  to  5  per  cent.  The 
feeling  of  the  coontrj  waa  deddedl j  hoatile  to  thia  propoeaL 
The  Merchant  Co*  of  Edinborgh  met  and  paaaed  raaidaticms 
against  it,  and  the  inhabitants  held  a  public  meeting  fiir  the 
same  purpose.  The  opposition  to  the  measore  was  soc* 
cessftiL 

The  accoonts  of  the  sadden  overthiow  of  the  government 
of  King  Louis  Philippe,  and  the  establishment  again  of  a 
Republic  in  France,  excited  intense  interest  in  Ekiinbuigfa; 
theie  events  took  place  in  Paris  22d,  23d,  and  24th  Feb- 
nuuy,  1848,  and  in  the  Scottish  metropolis  the  news  was 
received  every  few  hours  irom  London,  by  electric  tel^f^raph, 
a  new  and  striking  feature  in  the  transmission  of  intelligence. 
On  the  6th  and  7th  March,  alarming  riots  took  place  in 
Glasgow,  military  were  despatched  to  aid  in  quelling  the 
disturbances,  and  on  the  latter  evening  a  serious  riot  oc- 
curred in  Edinburgh ;  about  3,000  persons  were  congregated- 
near  the  Tron  church.  The  LonU  Provost  assembled  a 
number  of  citizens  to  act  as  special  constables,  and  sent  to 
the  Castle  and  Piersbill  for  the  aid  of  the  military.  The 
Sheriff  read  the  riot  act,  and  advised  the  crowds  to  disperse 
to  their  homes.  These  energetic  proceedings  of  the  Magis- 
trates succeeded  in  putting  a  stop  to  the  disturbances-* 
though  several  hundreds  of  the  city  lamps  were  broken  on 
the  occasion. 

The  Queen  Street  Hall,  a  very  handsome  new  building, 
erected  as  a  Synod  Hall  for  the  United  Presbyterians,  was 
opened  8th  May,  1848,  and  soon  came  to  be  a  useful  place 
of  assemblage  for  a  variety  of  public  meetings.  It  is  fitted 
to  accommodate  about  1.200  persons. 


1848.  ANNALS.  531 

Sir  SlomM  atcb  fUMtt. 

Sir  Thomas  Dick  Lander.  Bart,  a  well-known 

1848.  .  . 

pnblic-spirited  citizen,  died  at  his  mansion  house  of 
Grange,  in  the  suburbs  of  Edinburgh,  29th  ^£ay,  1848. 
He  was  the  author  of  ^  Locliandhu,'  a  tale,  *  An  Account  of 
the  Moraysliire  Floods  in  1829,'  and  several  other  works. 

The  Trinity  College  Church,  considered  one  of  the  finest 
specimens  of  Gothic  architecture  in  the  Scottish  metropolis, 
was  erected' in  1462,  and  was  now  to  be  taken  down  to  make 
room  for  the  North  British  Railway's  additions  to  their 
station.  The  last  public  services  in  this  ancient  fabric  took 
place  14th  May,  1848.  In  demolishing  the  building,  the  dis- 
covery was  made  of  the  remains  of  Mary  of  Gueldres,  in  an 
oak  coffin.  She  founded  the  church  in  the  above  year,  and 
died  the  following  year  1463,  being  interred  there.  This 
lady  was  Queen  of  James  II.,  and  after  the  lapse  of  nearly 
400  years,  on  the  15th  July,  the  body  was  re-interred  in  the 
royal  vault  at  Hol3nrood  palace. 

The  foundation-stone  of  a  large  and  handsome  new  Com 
Market,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Grassmai'ket,  was  laid  28th 
June,  1848,  by  the  Lord  Provost,  Black,  in  presence  of  the 
Magistrates  and  a  number  of  respectable  farmers  and  com 
merchants,  but  without  any  ostentatious  public  display. 

One  of  those  disagreeable  scenes  that  have  arisen  out  of 
the  Annuity  Tax,  occurred  on  3d  July,  1848.  An  uphol- 
sterer in  Frederick  Street  allowed  his  goods  to  be  poinded 
for  arrears;  an  auctioneer  was  brought  from  Glasgow  to 
sell  them;  a  crowd  gathered,  and  the  man  was  deforced. 
Having  a  sale  of  a  similar  description  to  execute  in  Hanover 
Street,  he  complained  to  the  Sheriff,  who  ordered  out  the 
police  and  military,  and,  until  the  affair  was  over,  Edin- 
burgh presented  the  appearance  of  a  beleaguered  city.  On 
1st  August,  one  of  the  Magistrates,  BaiKe  Stott,  went  to 
prison  rather  than  pay  his  arrears  of  this  tax — and  con- 


532  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBUKGH. 

tinued  a  fortnight  there  till  the  monej  was  paid  by  sub- 
scription. 

The  Highland  and  Agricultnral  Society  held  another 
grand  Cattle  Show  at  the  west  end  of  the  Dean  Bridge  on 
2d  Angusty  1848|  when  nnmerons  visitors  came  to  the  city 
to  witness  it.  On  the  following  day^  the  Duke  of  Montrose 
presided  at  a  pablic  dinner  given  on  the  occasion  at  the 
Music  Hall.  He  was  supported  by  the  Lord^  Provost  and 
the  Duke  of  Buccleuch,  and  a  company  of  about  500. 
These  exhibitions  were  considered  as  tending  greatly  to  the 
improvement  of  the  agricultural  stock  of  the  countiy. 

On  4th  September,  1848,  a  report  was  read  to  the  Mer- 
chant Company  firom  the  Governors  of  Greorge  Watson's 
Hospital,  with  the  details  of  an  attempt  they  had  made  to 
extend  the  education  given  in  the  Hospital  to  day  scholars. 
The  Bill  to  accomplish  this  laudable  object  was  unfortunately 
thrown  out  in  the  House  of  Peers* 

In  1848  a  contest  again  arose  for  the  civic  chair.  The  two 
candidates  were,  William  Johnston,  Esq.^  of  Kirkhill,  and 
Robert  Chambers,  Esq.,  the  weU-known  author  and  pub- 
lisher. The  latter  retired,  and  Mr.^Johnston  was  unani- 
mously elected. 

A  public  meeting  was  held  in  the  Waterloo  Booms,  27th 
December,  1848,— the  Lord  Provost  in  the  chair,  when  it 
was  agreed  to  form  a  Financial  Beform  Association,  with 
the  view  of  urging  on  the  government  the  necessity  of  keep- 
ing the  expenditure  within  the  limits  of  the  national  revenue. 
On  7th  February,  1849,  a  meeting  of  the  inhabi- 
tants was  held  in  the  Queen  Street  Hall, — the  Lord 
Provost  presiding.  The  object  of  the  meeting  was  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  Game  Laws.  Besolutions  were  unanimously 
passed  condemnatory-  of  them  on  account  of  their  moral, 
social,  and  economical  evils. 

A  discussion  took  place  in  the  Town  Council,  27th  Feb- 
ruary, 1849,  regarding  opening  up  the  Meadow  Parks  for 
the  benefit  of  the  public, — ^In  large  cities  the  free  use  of 


IMS.  AKKAIJ&.  5S3 

sach  public  paib  obvionsly  tends  greatly  to  promote  the 
Iiealth  and  comfort  of  the  population.  And  on  12th  March, 
a  meeting  of  leading  citizens  was  held  to  consider  the  best 
means  of  improving  the  condition  of  the  working  classes, 
and  for  providing  better  and  more  healthy  house  accommo- 
dation for  them  than  they  at  present  possessed*  The  Lford 
Provost  suggested  that  if  a  number  of  gentlemen  would 
engage  together  in  a  private  enterprixe,  there  would  be  little 
difficulty  in  purchasing  both  sides  of  the  closes  in  some  of 
the  worst  parts  of  the  town,  for  the  purpose  of  pulling  down 
the  houses  and  rebuilding  one  side,  thus  increasing  the 
healthiness  and  ventilation  of  the  quarter,  and  greatly  im- 
proving the  dwellings. 

At  a  subsequent  meeting  held  on  the  same  subject.  Dr. 
Begg  stated  that  a  respectable  architect  in  the  city  would 
engage  .to  erect  forty«-eight  houses  on  an  acne  of  ground, 
each  house  to  have  a  separate  access,  and  to  contain  a  good 
kitchen,  bed-room,  scullery,  and  pantry,  with  a  bleaching- 
green  of  npwards  of  200  square  yards  for  every  four  funilies, 
and  each  house  could  be  let  on  an  average  for  £5  per  an- 
num. The  cultivation  of  waste  lands  by  tlie  poor  was  also 
discussed  at  this  meeting. 

Mr.  Lefevre  having  been  appointed  by  the  government 
to  make  inquiries  and  report  to  Parliament  regarding  the 
Annuity  Tax, — after  careful  preparation  presented  a  volu- 
minous report  to  the  House  of  Commons,  in  May,  1849. 
His  suggestions  were,  that  in  lieu  of  the  Annuity  Tax,  a 
commutation  annuitv  of  £8,800  be  settled  on  the  ministers 
of  Edinburgh— -£2,550  of  this  to  be  only  temporary, — ^the 
College  of  Justice  to  waive  their  exemption.  The  Town 
Council  to  be  empowered  to  levy  a  rate  not  exceeding  a 
per  centage  to  be  fixed,  as  additional  security  for  this 
annuity. 

A  meeting  of  tlie  inhabitants  was  held  in  the  Music  Hall, 
6th  August,  1849,  to  express  sympathy  with  the  Hungarian 
nation  in  their  present  struggle  for  constitutional  ^freedom, — 


534  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUK6H. 

the  Lord  Provost,  Johnston,  presided.  There  is  a  moral 
and  physical  resemblance  between  Scotland  and  Hangarjr, 
which  probably  added  considerably  to  the  feeling  of  qrm* 
pathy  on  this  occasion.  Each  of  them  were  ancient  and 
independent  kingdoms,  and  merged  into  a  larger  empire, 
and  each  proud  of  the  native  hills  and  fastnesses  of  their 
own  country,  scarcely  ever  trod  by  foreign  foe. 

This  was  an  expression  of  opinion  in  the  sacred  cause  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty,  and  the  interference  of  Bussia 
probably  still  ftirther  warranted  the  expression  of  sympathy 
from  Britain.  It  was  agreed  to  present  an  address  to  the 
Hungarian  nation  to  be  transmitted  to  Kossuth,  the  former 
viceroy  of  Hungary.  Georgey,  his  successor,  had  found  it 
necessary  to  surrender  on  13th  August  with  an  army  of 
30,000  men. 

The  Town  Council  on  15th  August,  1849,  presented  Sir 
James  Duke,  Lord  Mayor,  and  M.P.  for  London,  with  the 
freedom  of  the  city.  Sir  James  was  a  native  of  Scotland, 
and  by  his  industrial  exertions  had  been  the  architect  of  his 
own  fortune. 

In  1848  and  1849,  Edinburgh  again  suffered  from 
Cholera,  but  not  nearly  so  fatally  as  in  1832. 

Queen  Victoria  being  now  in  possession  of  a  Highland* 
home  at  Balmoral,  by  Deeside,  in  the  southern  part  of 
Aberdeenshire,  with  her  royal  consoit  Prince  Albert,  gener- 
ally spent  a  few  weeks  of  the  autumn  enjoying  the  invigor- 
ating breezes  of  the  north,  and  the  Prince,  the  Highland 
sports.  Her  Majesty,  her  consort,  and  four  of  their  children, 
arrived  in  Edinburgh  27th  September,  1849,  on  their 
way  to  England.  A  platform  was  erected  at  the  North 
British  Railway  station,  near  the  Waverley  Bridge,  which 
accommodated  about  five  hundred  of  the  elite  of  the  citizens, 
who  gave  their  Sovereign  an  enthusiastic  reception.  The 
Prince  of  Wales,  the  probable  futui*e  Eling,  was  then  a  fine 
boy  of  nine  years  of  age. 

Two  public  meetings  of  the  inhabitants  were  held.  5th  and 


1849.  ANNADS.  535 

24th  October,  1849, — Bailie  Melville  preading  at  the  first, 
and  the  Lord  Provost  at  the  second.  The  object  was  in  fa- 
vour of  a  suspension  of  Sabbath  labour  generally  througli- 
out  the  Post  Office  department  of  the  country.  A  proposal 
for  resuming  it  in  the  General  Post  Office,  London,  led  to 
these  meetings.  The  intention  had  been  deprecated  by  the 
commercial  classes  in  London, — the  cessation  from  such 
labour  having  been  found  of  advantage  in  every  point  of  view. 

Thursday,  18th  October,  1849,  was  observed  as  a  day  of 
humiliation  and  prayer  in  all  the  churches  and  chapels  of 
the  city,  on  account  of  the  prevalence  of  cholera. 

The  new  elegant  building  for  the  Com  Exchange,  in  the 
Grassmarket,  was  opened  5th  December,  1849.  It  is  con- 
structed in  the  Italian  style,  at  the  same  time  it  is  massive 
in  appearance.  The  height  of  the  building  is  sixty  feet,  and 
the  breadth  of  the  main  front  about  one  hundred  feet. 
There  is  a  clock  and  bell  tower  thirty  feet  high.  The  in- 
terior hall  is  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  feet  long,  by  eighty- 
two  feet  broad.  It  has  a  triple  roof,  supported  by  a  double 
row  of  pillars,  and  forms  a  very  elegant  hall.  A  poll  tax  of 
one  penny  is  to  be  levied  on  each  person  entering  the  mar- 
ket, and  a  daty  of  one  shilling  for  every  sample  bag  de- 
posited. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  opening,  the  Magistrates  invited 
a  party  of  about  twelve  hundred  farmers  and  influential 
citizens  to  meet  them  in  the  hall,  where  they  had  provided 
an  elegant  collation.  The  Lord  Provost,  Johnston,  an- 
nounced that  it  was  necessary  to  open  the  market  by  an 
actual  sale,  and  fortliwith  sold  a  quarter  of  barley  grown 
upon  his  own  estate,  at  twenty-four  shillings,  and  paid  custom 
on  it  to  the  city  chamberlain.  The  whole  affair  passed  off 
with  considerable  edat. 

A  public  meeting  of  the  Association  for  improving  the 
lodging  houses  of  the  working  classes  was  held  in  the  Boyal 
Hotel,  27th  December,  1849, — the  Lord  Provost  in  the 
chair.      The  Association  had  now  three    model   lodging 


636  HlflTORT  OF  EDniBUBGH. 

houfet  in  focoasAd  operation,  one  in  the  West  Port,  one  in 
the  Cowgate,  and  one  in  Merchant  Street. 

During  the  last  year  opwards  of  forty  thoosand  in- 
dindoals  had  been  accommodated  with  beds  in  these  hooaes, 
with  a  secnrity  fiir  their  persons  and  property  which  they 
coold  not  hare  had  in  the  old  lodging  hooaes,  and  though 
these  buildings  were  in  the  very  centre  of  disease  in  the  dty, 
not  a  single  case  of  cholera  had  occorred. 

At  this  period  the  important  question  of  a  Na- 
tional Scheme  of  Education,  led  to  considerable  di»> 
cnssion  in  Edinburgh,  the  little  differences  of  sects  erected 
the  great  barrier  in  the  way  of  a  general  system,  each  ad- 
Tocating  their  own  particular  views.  It  became  obvious  to  the 
leading  minds  of  the  day  that  it  was  necessary  to  overcome 
these,  and  take  a  large  and  comprehensive  view  of  the  sub- 
ject.  In  January,  1850,  the  following  important  Education 
manifesto  was  issued,  signed  by  great  numbers  of  influential 
men  of  the  various  religious  denominations: 

•^'The  Subscribers  of  this  document^  believing  that  the 
state  of  Scotland  and  the  general  feeling  of  its  inhabitants 
justify  and  demand  the  legislative  establishment  of  a  com- 
prehensive plan  of  national  education,  have  determined  that 
an  effort  shall  be  made  to  unite  the  friends  of  this  great 
cause  on  principles  at  once  so  general  and  so  definite  as  to 
form  a  basis  for  practical  legislation ;  and  with  this  view,  they 
adopt  the  following  resolutions,  and  recommend  them  to  the 
consideration  of  the  country: — 

^^  1.  That  while  it  might  be  difRcult  to  describe,  with  a 
near  approach  to  statistical  precision,  the  exact  condition  of 
Scotland  at  this  moment  in  regard  to  education,  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that,  as  a  people,  we  have  greatly  sunk  from' 
our  former  elevated  position  among  educated  nations,  and 
that  a  large  proportion  of  our  youth  are  left  without  educa- 
tion,  to  grow  up  in  an  ignorance  miserable  to  themselves 
and  dangerous  to  society;  that  this  state  of  matters  is  the 
more  melancholv,  as  this  educational  destitution  is  found 


I860.  AKNAL6.  537 

chiefly  among  the  masses  of  our  crowded  cities,  in  oar  mann- 
iactnrinfr  and  mining  districts,  and  in  the  Highlands  and 
Islands  of  Scotland,  where  the  people  are  not  likely  spon- 
taneously to  provide  instmction  for  themselves;  that  the 
quality  of  education,  even  where  it  does  exist,  is  often  as  de- 
fective as  its  quanti^;  and  that  this  is  a  state  of  things 
reqairing  an  immediate  remedy. 

^*  2.  That  the  snbscribers  hold  it  to  be  of  vital  and  pri- 
mary importance  that  sonnd  religious  instruction  be  com- 
municated to  all  the  youth  of  the  land  by  teachers  duly 
qualified;  and  they  express  this  conviction  in  the  full  belief 
that  there  will  never  be  any  enlargement  of  education  in 
Scotland,  on  a  popular  and  national  basis,  which  will  not 
carry  with  it  an  extended  distribution  of  religious  instruction ; 
while,  firom  the  strong  religious  views  entertained  by  the 
great  mass  of  the  people  of  this  oountxy,  and  the  interest 
which  they  take  in  the  matter  of  education,  the  subscribers 
can  see  in  the  increase  of  knowledge  only  an  enlargement  of 
the  desire  and  of  the  capacity  to  communicate  a  full  religi- 
ous education  to  the  generation  whose  parents  have  paitici- 
pated  in  this  advantage. 

^*  3.  That  the  parish  schools  of  Scotland  are  quite  inade- 
quate to  the  educational  wants  of  the  cx>untry;  and  are  de- 
fective and  objectionable  in  consequence  of  the  smallness  of 
the  class  invested  with  the  patronage,  the  limited  portion  of 
the  community  firom  which  the  teachers  are  selected,  tlie 
general  inadequacy  of  their  remuneration,  and  the  system  of 
management  applicable  to  the  schools,  inferring  as  it  does 
the  exclusive  control  of  Church  Courts ;  that  a  general  sys- 
tem of  national  education,  on  a  sound  and  popular  basis, 
and  capable  of  communicating  instruction  to  all  classes  of 
the  community,  is  urgently  called  for;  and  that  provision 
should  be  made  to  include  in  any  such  scheme,  not  only  all 
the  parish  schools,  but  also  all  existing  schools,  wherever 
they  are  required  by  the  necessities  of  the  population,  whose 


538  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

sapporteix  may  be  desirous  to  avail  themselves  of  its  ad- 
vantages. 

''  4.  That  the  teachers  appointed  under  the  system  con- 
templated by  the  sabscribers  should  not  be  required  by  law 
to  subscribe  any  religious  test;  that  Normal  Schools  for  the 
training  of  teachers  should  be  established;  that,  under  a 
general  arrangement  for  the  examination  of  tlie  qualifications 
of  schoolmasters,  the  possession  of  a  license  or  certificate  of 
qualification  should  be  necessary  to  entitle  a  teacher  to  be- 
come a  candidate  for  any  school  under  the  national  system; 
and  that  provision  should  be  made  for  the  adequate  remn- 
neratiou  of  all  teachers  who  may  be  so  appointed. 

^^  5.  That  the  duty  and  responsibility  of  communicating 
religious  instruction  to  children  have,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
subscribers,  been  committed  by  God  to  their  parents,  and 
through  them  to  such  teachers  as  they  may  choose  to  entrust 
with  that  duty;  that  in  the  numerous  schools  throughout 
Scotland  which  have  been  founded  and  supported  by  private 
contribution,  the  religious  element  has  always  held  a  pro- 
minent place;  and  that,  were  the  power  of  selecting  the 
masters,  fixing  the  branches  to  be  taught,  and  managing 
the  schools,  at  present  vested  by  law  in  the  Heritora  of  Scot- 
land and  the  Presbyteries  of  the  Established  Church,  to  be 
trtosferred  to  the  heads  of  families  under  a  national  system 
of  education,  the  subscribers  would  regard  such  an  arrange* 
ment  as  afibrding  not  only  a  basis  of  union  for  the  great 
mass  of  the  people  of  this  country,  but  a  fSu:  better  security 
than  any  that  at  present  exists  both  for  a  good  secular  and 
a  good  Christian  education. 

^^  6.  That  in  regard  to  a  legislative  measure,  the  sub- 
scribers are  of  opinion  with  the  late  lamented  Dr.  Chalmers, 
that  ^  there  is  no  other  method  of  extrication '  from  the.diflS- 
culties  with  which  the  question  of  Education  in  connection 
with  religion  is  encompassed  in  this  country,  than  the  plan> 
suggested  by  him  as  the  only  practicable  one, — namely, 
^  That  in  any  public  measure  for  helping  on  the  education 


1850.  AKKALS.  539 

of  the  people.  Government  should  abstain  from  introducing; 
the  element  of  religion  at  all  into  their  part  of  the  scheme, 
and  this  not  because  they  held  the  matter  to  be  insignificant, 
— ^the  contrary  might  be  strongly  expressed  in  the  preamble 
of  their  act,  but  on  the  ground  that,  in  the  present  divided 
state  of  the  Christian  world,  they  would  take  no  cognizance 
of,  just  because  they  would  attempt  no  control  over,  the  re- 
ligion of  applicants  for  aid, — Cleaving  this  matter  entirely  to 
the  parties  who  had  to  do  with  the  erection  and  manage- 
ment of  the  schools  which  they  had  been  called  upon  to 
assist*  A  grant  by  the  State  upon  this  footing  might  be 
regarded  as  being  appropriately  and  exclusively  the  expres- 
sion of  their  value  for  a  good  secular  education.* 

^  7.  That  in  order  to  secure  the  confidence  of  the  people 
of  Scotland  generally  in  a  national  system  of  education,  as 
well  as  to  secure  its  efficiency,  the  following  should  be  its 
main  features: — 1st,  That  Local  Boards  should  be  estab- 
lished, the  members  to  be  appointed  by  popular  election,  on 
the  principle  of  giving  the  franchise  to  all  male  heads  of 
families  being  householders;  and  with  these  boards  should 
lie  the  selection  of  masters,  the  general  management  of  the 
schools,  and  the  right,  without  undue  interference  with  the 
master,  to  direct  the  branches  of  education  to  be  taught. 
2d,  That  there  should  be  a  general  superintending  authority, 
so  constituted  as  to  secure  the  public  confidence,  and  to  be 
responsible  to  the  country  through  Parliament,  which,  with- 
out superseduig  the  Local  Boards,  should  see  that  their 
duties  are  not  neglected,^prevent  abuses  from  being  per- 
petrated through  carelessness  or  design,-— check  extravagant 
expenditure, — protect  tlie  interests  of  all  parties, — collect 
and  preserve  the  general  statistics  of  education,  and  difiuse 
throughout  the  country,  by  communication  with  the  Local 
Boards,  such  knowledge  on  the  subject  of  education,  and 
such  enlightened  views,  as  their  authoritative  position,  and 
their  command  of  aid  from  the  highest  intellects  in  the 
country,  may  enable  them  to  communicate. 


540  HISTORY  OF  EDIKBTTBGH. 

^  Were  such  a  system  adopted,  the  subscriben  are  of 
opinion  that  it  would  be  quite  unnecessary  either  for  the 
Legislature  or  any  central  authority  to  dictate  or  control  the 
education  to  be  imparted  in  the  National  Schools,  or  to  pre- 
scribe any  subject  to  be  taught  or  book  to  be  used;  and 
should  a  measure  founded  on  these  suggestions  become  law, 
not  only  would  the  subscribers  feel  it  to  be  their  duty,  but 
they  confidently  believe  the  ministers  and  religions  com- 
munities in  the  various  localities  would  see  it  to  be  theirs,  to 
use  all  their  influence  in  promoting  such  arrangements  as, 
in  the  woridng  of  the  plan,  would  effectually  secure  a  sound 
religious  education  to  the  children  attending  the  schools.** 

Francis  Jeffrey,  the  most  distinguished  of  British 
critics,  and  one  of  the  most  respected  citizens  of 
Edinburgh,  died  at  his  house,  Moray  Place,  26th  January, 
1850.  He  was  bom  in  the  city,  at  Charles  Street, 
George  Square,  23d  October,  1773,  neither  in  a  ^patri- 
mpnial  garret  **  nor  at  so  great  an  elevation  as  ^  the  sixteenth 
storey,"  which  Lord  Byron  afterwards  satirically  bestowed 
upon  him.*  His  father  was  one '  of  the  Depute  Clerks  of 
the  Court  of  Session.  In  October,  1781,  Jeffirey  entered 
the  High  School,  where  he  continued  for  six  years.  His  . 
friend  and  biographer.  Lord  Cockbum,  mentions,  that  one 
day,  in  the  winter  of  1786-7,  he  was  standing  on  the  High 
Street,  staring  at  a  man  whose  appearance  struck  him.  That 
person  was  Robert  Bums.  He  attended  Glasgow  for  two 
sessions,  1787-9,  then  after  one  season  at  Edinburgh  Uni- 
versity he  went  to  Oxford.  In  1794  he  passed  Advocate, 
and  in  1801  married  his  relative.  Miss  Catherine  Wilson, 
and  his  first  domicile  was  in  the  third  storey,  18  Buodench 
p]ace — the  following  year  he  removed  to  62  Queen  Street. 

•  Lord  Byron's  English  Bozds  and  Scotch  Berieireri. 


1850.  AKKAL8.  541 

He  became  editor  of  tlie  Edinburgh  Review  soon  after  its 
starting  in  1802,  and  its  series  contains  a  brilliant  array  of 
articles  the  productions  of  his  genius.  In  1805  he  lost 
his  first  wife,  to  whom  he  was  deeply  attached.  In  1810  be 
removed  to  George  Street,  where  he  resided  nigh  twenty 
years  during  the  winters,  for  soon  after  that  he  had  a  coun- 
try residence  for  the  summer.  In  1813  he  took  a  trip  to  the 
United  States  of  America,  and  married  Miss  Charlotte 
Wilkes,  a  grand-niece  of  the  celebrated  John  Wilkes;  and 
in  1815  Craigcrook,  a  fine  old  mansion  beautifully  situated 
in  the  vicinity  of  Edinburgh,  became  his  summer  quarters,  a 
nlace  where  many  a  literary  party  was  held,  during  the^ext 
third  of  a  century  that  it  was  his  habitation.  He  was  chosen 
Lord  Rector  of  Glasgow  College  1820,  when  he  delivered  a 
beautiftd  address  to  tlie  alumni.  In  1827  he  removed  to 
24  Moray  Place.  Jeffrey  was  elected  Dean  of  the  Fa- 
culty of  Advocates  in  1829,  when  he  resigned  his  editor- 
ship of  the  Edinburgh  Review.  In  1830  he  became  Lord 
Advocate,  and  got  a  seat  in  Parliament,  and  on  the  carrying 
the  Scottish  Reform  Bill  he  was,  in  1832,  both  tastefully 
and  gracefolly  retamed  by  his  fellow-citizens  as  their  first 
representative  in  Parliament  under  that  act.  He  became  a 
judge  of  the  Court  of  Session  in  1834  as  Lord  Jeffi*ey,  and 
in  his  judicial,  maintained  as  high  a  character  as  he  had  at- 
tained in  his  literary  and  political  capacity.  Jeffrey  was 
a  most  genial  and  benevolent  being;  he  had  realized  a 
handsome  fortune,  and  his  purse  was  always  open  to  the 
calls  of  charity.  For  the  last  few  years  of  his  life,  a  good 
deal  of  time  was  spent  with  his  wife  reading  the  Bible  to 
him,  and  his  favourite  walk  was  to  the  Dean  Cemeter}*, 
which  he  had  fixed  on  as  his  last  resting  place.  He  was 
so  well  as  to  walk  roond  the  Calton  Hill  on  22d  Januaiy, 
1850,  four  days  before  his  death,  and  on  31st  January  he 
was  buried  at  the  Dean  Cemetery,  where  a  neat  tabular 
monument  has  been  erected  to  his  memory,  with  a  striking 
medallion  likeness.    A  public  meeting  was  held  7th  Febru- 


542  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBOH. 

arjy  when  it  was  agreed  to  erect  a  statue  to  his  memory 
in  the  Parliament  House.  One  in  Charlotte  Square  or 
Moraj  FlacOy  would  probably  have  been  more  appropriate 
— ^as  hhi  services  were  not  merely  legal. 

SbiK  moitam  WUtL 

Sir  William  Allan,  the  President  of  the  Boyal 

1850a 

Scottish  Academy,  and  the  most  disdngoished  his- 
torical painter  in  Scotland,  died  at  his  house  in  Great  Kinfr 
Street,  22d  February,  1850.  He  was  bom  in  1782  in 
humble  life,  and  early  evinced  a  taste  for  art,  and  first  com- 
menced painting  devices  on  carriages.  He  visited  various 
foreign  countries,  stud^-ing  their  scenery  and  the  manners 
of  the  people, — Morocco,  Greece,  Spain,  Russia,  and  Persia. 
Among  his  most  remarkable  pictures  are  ^  the  Slave  Market 
of  Constantinople,'  ^  Tartar  Banditti,*  ^  The  Moorish  Love 
Letter,'  ^  Murder  of  Archbishop  Sharp,'  ^  ElUOx  Lectoring 
Queen  Mary,'  <The  Battle  of  Waterloo.'  This  last  was 
purchased  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  He  was  minutely 
accurate  in  the  preparation  of  the  details  of  his  pictures. 
He  was  buried  in  the  Dean  Cemetery,  where  there  is  a 
monument  erected  to  him. 


Siix  JTanun  etbntm 

Sir  James  Gibson  Craig,  Bart.,  a  leading  citizen, 
died  6th  March,  1850.  He  was  the  second  son  of 
William  Gibson,  Esq.,  and  was  bom  in  1765.  He  be- 
came a  Writer  to  the  Signet  in  1786,  and  in  1796  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  James  Thomson,  Esq.  Henry  Cock- 
bum  says  of  him,  ^^  He  was  so  prominent  in  our  .worst 
times,  that  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  Thomas  Muir 
could  be  transported  and  James  Gibson  be  not  even  tried. 
Boldness,  talent,  and  devotion  to  the  apparently  desperate 
cause  of  Scottish  freedom  made  him  the  terror  and  hatred  of 


1850.  ANKALS.  543 

some.''  In  1823  he  added  ^^  Craig ''  to  his  paternal  name  of 
Gibson.  When  the  Whigs  came  into  power  he  became 
their  foremost  man  in  business  affairs  in  Edinburgh.  In 
1831  he  was  created  a  baronet.  He  was  an  honest,  upright, 
amiable  man. 

A  great  Industrial  Exhibition  of  the  works  of  all  nations 
having  been  arranged  to  be  held  the  following  year  in  Lon- 
don, Captain  Ibbetson  was  deputed  to  Edinburgh  to  forward 
the  objects  of  the  Exhibition.  A  meeting  was  held  with  him 
in  the  Council  Chamber,  11th  March,  1850,  and  after  cer- 
tain preliminary  proceedings,  a  public  meeting  to  forward 
tiie  object  was  held  in  the  Music  Hall  three  days  after, — 
the  Lord  Provost,  Johnston,  in  the  chair,  when  it  was  re- 
solved, ^^  That  the  meeting  considers  the  proposed  Exhibition 
worthy  of  the  support  of  all  classes  of  the  community/'  and 
on  the  motion  of  Lord  ^lurray,  it  was  agreed  to  tender  tlieir 
grateful  acknowledgments  to  Prince  Albert  for  having 
originated  the  project  and  for  manifesting  so  warm  an  in- 
terest in  its  development. 

David  Maitland  Makgill  Crichton,  Esq.,  of  Rankeilour, 
delivered  an  interesting  lecture  in  Edinburgh,  22d  March, 
1850,  on  the  improvement  of  the  dwellings  of  the  working 
classes,  and  the  impoilance  of  reclaiming  and  extending  in 
cities  ajid  towns  the  rights  of  tlie  people  to  public  grounds. 
And  about  the  same  time  a  meeting  of  gentlemen  was  held 
in  Piliig  School  Koom,  who  proposed  building  improved 
workmen's  houses  in  that  neighbourhood.  They  inspected 
the  ground,  and  were  much  pleased  with  the  locality,  Leith 
Walk  containing  upwards  of  twentj'  establishments  employ- 
ing about  a  thousand  workmen  who  could  not  find  proper 
house  accommodation  in  the  vicinity.  An  idea  M'as  enter- 
tained that  that  neighbourhood  may  become  the  chief  manu- 
facturing district  of  Edinburgh. 

A  public  meeting  of  the  friends  of  National  Education 
was  held  in  the  Music  Hal!,  9th  April,  1850,  with  the  view 


544  HI8T0BT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

of  forming  an  association  for  the  support  and  prosecntion  of 
a  National  System  of  Education  on  the  basis  of  the  Mani- 
festo issued  in  Edinbtu^h  a  few  weeks  before.  Adam 
Blacky  Esq.y  late  Lord  Provost,  was  caUed  to  the  chair. 
The  meeting  adopted  the  identical  terms  of  the  Manifiesto, 
as  the  principal  part  of  their  resolutions,  and  as  aiibrding 
the  best  basis  for  practical  legislation  on  the  subject  of  Na- 
tional Education  in  Scotland,  and  agreed  to  form  an  asso* 
ciation  for  using  all  proper  means  to  give  practical  effect  to 
the  objects  contemplated.  The  said  association  to  be  called 
^  The  National  Education  Association  of  Scotland.** 

The  entrance  at  Lauriston  to  the  public  walk,  the  Mea- 
dows, formerly  called  Hope  Park,  had  long  been  of  a  shabby 
description,  with  wooden  stakes  driven  in  to  prevent  vehicles 
passing,  but  two  elegant  pillars  were  now  erected,  and  on 
18th  April,  1850,  these  were  surmounted  by  two  very  hand- 
some stataes,  not  of  human  beings,  but  of  that  singular  quad- 
raped,  the  actual  existence  of  which  has  sometimes  been 
disputed — the  Unicobx.  This  beautiful  animal  forms  a 
portion  of  the  national  arms  of  Scotland.  The  statues 
are  about  six  feet  in  height,  with  the  motto  ^'  Nemo  me 
iropune  lacesset  **  inscribed  on  the  one  side,  and  ^^  Nisi  Do- 
minus  frustra"  on  the  other.  They  were  scnlptured  by 
Mr.  Handyside  Ritchie. 

At  this  period  Donaldson's  Hospital,  near  Mnrrayfield, 
about  one  mile  west  from  Edinburgh,  was  finished.  It  is 
indeed  a  palace  for  poverty,  with  its  splendid  gilded  towers. 
It  took  seven  years  to  build,  and  the  cost  has  been  about 
£100,000. 

On  22d  May,  1850,  a  public  meeting  was  held  in  the 
Music  Hall,  for  improvement  of  the  lower  classes  and  the 
suppression  of  intemperance, — Lord  Belhaven  in  the -chair. 
Several  powerful  speeches  were  delivered,  and  a  national 
association  formed,  having  these  objects  in  view.  At 
the  same  time  there  appeared  iu  the  Witness  newspaper,  a 
felicitous  and  graphic  sketch  of  the  state  of  the  Old  town 


1850.  VNNAL8,  545 

from  the  pen  of  one  of  the  ablest  writers  of  the  daj,  which 
is  well  worth  preserving — as  illostrating  the  manners  of  the 
people  at  this  period,  and  throwing  light  on  the  question  of 
Sabbath  traffic.    It  was  entitled: 


u 


SABBATH  BTBKINO  WALK  FROM  THE  CASTLE  TO  HOLTBOOD. 


**  Few  of  our  town  readers,  we  presume,  are  fiuniliar  with 
the  Sabbath  aspect  of  our  dtj.  They  leave  home  only  at 
those  hours  when  the  streets  are  thronged  with  church-goers, 
and  their  evenings  are  spent  in  the  circle  of  their  own  fam- 
ilies. No  scene  of  dissipation  or  of  Sabbath  traffic  dis- 
turbs the  quiet  of  their  own  neighbourhood ;  and  they  accept 
this  as  a  fair  sample  of  the  state  of  matters  all  over  the  city. 
It  b  to  undeceive  such  that  we  now  write.  Will  thev  be- 
lieve  it,  there  are  rejf^ons  of  our  city  which  enjoy  no  Sab- 
bathl  We  resolved  last  Sabbath  evening  to  see  the  state 
of  matters  with  our  own  eyes;  and  we  now  beg  to  state 
what  fell  under  our  observation  in  our  walk  from  the  Castle 
Hill  to  the  Palace  of  Holyrood.  We  walked  up  to  the  gray 
rampart,  on  which  floated  the  broad  banner  of  England, 
and  found  a  crowd  of  youngsters  at  the  gate,  with  a  stream 
of  visitors  flowing  in  at  the  rate  of  about  a  dozen  every  six 
minutes.  On  the  esplanade  were  groupes  of  idlers,  with 
here  and  there  parties  of  boys  plajring  at  marbles,  or  pitch 
and  toss.  Proceeding  down  the  Castle  HiU,  the  first  shop 
we  came  to  on  the  right  was  a  spirit*shop,  and  it  was  open. 
On  the  left  M'as  a  wretched  vault,  sunk  deep  below  the  level 
of  the  street,  with  the  door  >^nde  open;  and  full  in  the  view 
of  any  youngster  who  might  chance  to  pass,  there  was  set 
at  the  bottom  of  the  stair  a  table,  on  which  were  arranged  a 
few  oranges  and  confectionaries.  This  device  we  found 
repeated  again  and  again  during  the  course  of  oar  walk. 
The  next  open  shop  on  the  right  was  a  grocer^s.  Here  was 
a  clear  contravention  of  the  law.  Nor  was  this  a  solitary 
case.     There  were  a  goodly  sprinkling  of  such  shops  along 

the  line  of  our  walk.     Next  door  to  the  shop  we  have  ju^t 

2  M 


546  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

indicated  was  a  tavern,^-open,  and  apparontlj  well^fre- 
qnented.  Bat  we  cannot,  and  need  not,  particularize.  The 
whole  street  down  to  Yictoria  Hall  was  thickly  stndded  with 
open  shopsi  being  mostly  those  of  spirit-dealers.  Such  as 
we  interrogated  confessed,  after  a  little  hesitation,  that  they 
did  at  least  as  much  business  on  a  Sabbath  evening  as  on  that 
of  a  week-day.  From  Yictoria  Hall  onward  to  the  Bridges, 
the  street  was  comparatively  clear  of  this  abomination.  We 
recollect  one  shop  in  that  region  of  the  street  kept  open  ap- 
parently from  motives  of  philanthropy.  There  was  not  a 
customer  near  its  door,  and  a  feeble  light  was  burning  inside. 
We  entered,  and  found  a  little  old  man,  with  a  sour  biting 
visage,  sitting  pent  up  in  a  dark  comer.  He  made  not  the 
least  effort,  as  the  others  generally  did,  on  our  entering,  to 
get  ready  the  appai*atas  proper  to  such  places.  ^  You  don't 
seem  to  be  doing  much,  friend,'  said  we.  ^  Nothing  at  all,' 
was  the  reply.  ^  You  don't  always  do  as  little  I '  we  inquired. 
'  Always,  always.  It  won't  pay  the  gas.'  We  suggested 
that  the  common-sense  plan  was  to  extinguish  the  gas,  lock 
the  door,  and  go  home;  but  he  did  not  appear  to  look  with 
much  favour  upon  our  advice,  but  kept  on  burning  gas,  at  a 
dead  loss,  according  to  his  own  showing,  for  the  special  be- 
hoof of  the  wayfarer  doubtless. 

^'  From  the  Tron  Church  downwards  we  lost  all  trace  of 
the  Sabbath  evening.  Spirit-shops,  eating-houses,  and  pro- 
vision-stores blazed  on  every  side,  while  the  pavement  was 
crowded  with  idlers  and  tipplers.  That  part  of  the  street 
extending  from  the  Tron  Church  to  Moray  House  we  found 
decidedly  the  worst  part  of  the  whole  line.  The  business 
done  at  these  houses  during  the  course  of  the  evening  must 
be  immense,  and,  judging  from  wtiat  we  saw,  hr  beyond 
that  of  an  ordinary  evening.  We  watched  for  about  five 
minutes  the  door  of  one  tavern,  which  did  not  seem  to  be 
more  highly  favoured  as  regards  visitors  than  its  neighbours, 
and  in  that  space  of  time  upwards  of  a  dozen  entered.  We 
are  persuaded  that  we  do  not  over-estimate  the  average 


1850.  AKMALB.  547 

number  of  Timton  at  each  house  in  this  part  of  the  street 
when  we  state  it  an  hundred  an  evening.  The  rooms  within 
were  crowded,  if  one  may  judge  firom  the  noise  and  ceaseless 
tinkling  of  the  bell;  but  a  great  deal  of  business  was  done 
at  the  counter.  The  open  shop,  in  instances  not  a  few,  was 
literally  crowded,  while  ^'mine  host**  and  his  assistants 
toiled  at  the  work  of  drawing  corks  and  filling  glasses.  One 
fact  caused  us  peculiar  sensations.  The  house  of  our  great 
Beformer,  which  is  occupied  as  a  tavern,  we  found  open : 
and  during  the  few  minutes  we  remained  near  its  door,  six 
haggard  spectres, — for  thej  appeared  more  like  spectres  than 
creatures  of  flesh  and  blood, — passed  us,  and  disappeared  in 
the  interior.  One  tiling  we  remarked  ydth  pleasure, — that 
not  a  few  of  those  who  thus  outraged  the  national  religion 
and  manners  of  Scotland,  by  keeping  open  their  shops  on 
€he  Day  of  rest,  bore  Irish  names,  as  a  reference  to  the  door- 
sign  showed,  and  not  a  few  of  their  customers  claimed  kin- 
dred with  them  in  point  of  race.  But  we  by  no  means  seek 
to  roll  over  this,  the  great  opprobrium  of  our  countiy,  upon 
others, — at  least  to  a  greater  degree  than  facts  warrant. 
There  is  no  denying  that  the  Scotch  have  fallen  to  a  fearful 
extent  under  the  dominion  of  drunkenness.  We  have  also 
to  state,  that  from  the  short  conversations,  good-natured 
on  both  sides,  which  we  bad  with  those  engaged  in  this  un- 
happy business  of  Sabbath  traffic,  almost  all  of  tliem  feel  in 
conscience  that  it  is  not  defensible,  and  would  shut  their 
shops  on  that  day,  provided  their  neighbours  did  so;  and  we 
believe  also  that  no  strong  or  universal  opposition  may  be 
expected  from  this  class,  against  those  measures  in  contem- 
plation for  subduing  this  vice. 

<<  From  Moray  House  down  to  the  Palace,  the  number  of 
open  shops  was  sensibly  diminished,  and  something  like 
Sabbath  decorum  and  quiet  began  again  to  prevail.  The 
places  open  were  mostly  provision  stores  and  dairies:  these 
latter,  however,  traded  in  various  articles  in  addition  to  that 
one  article  proper  to  a  dairy.     We  had  now  reached  Holy- 


548  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

rood;  and,  on  consnlting  our  jottings,  found  that  the  smn 
total  of  places  open  for  Sabbath  traffic, — the  vast  majority 
of  which   were  dram-shops  and  taverns, — amounted   to 
EIOHTT-TWO.    Here  are  eighty-two  families  in  one  line  of 
street  involved  in  the  sin  of  Sabbath  traffic,  and  that  the 
worst  kind  of  Sabbath  traffic;  and,  by  the  fiunlities  and 
temptations  which  they  offer,  drawing  thousands  into  the 
same  evil.     Is  it  not  time  to  rouse  onrselves  to  a  great  and 
combined  effort  to  pat  down  this  doable  iniquity  of  drunken- 
ness and  Sabbath  desecration?    We  have  adverted  to  but 
one  region  of  our  city, — that  personally  inspected  by  us; 
bat  we  have  now  lying  before  as  the  Sabbath  statistics  of 
the  whole  of  Edinburgh,  and  it  contains  disclosures  of  a 
most  startling  kind.     How  many  spirit-shops,  do  our  readers 
suppose,  were  open  in  Edinburgh  on  Sabbath  the  3d'  day 
t>f  March,  1850,  between  the  hours  of  foor  and  nine  o'clock 
afternoon  T    FouB  hxtndbed  Ain>  thibteen!!    Here  are 
far  more  public-houses  open  in  the  evening  than  churches 
in  the  morning, — ^far  more  public-houses  open  for  alluring 
and  destroying  youth,  than  Sabbath  schools  for  training  and 
saving  them.    Nomerous  as  we  accoant  our  agencies  for 
good,  they  are  not  yet  nearly  abreast  of  our  agencies  for  evil. 
This  imposes  a  two-fold  task,  which  let  us  strain  every  nerve 
to  accomplish:  we  must  strive  to  diminish  the  latter  class  of 
agencies,  and  increase  that  of  the  former." 

The  same  author's  description  of  Blackfriars'  Wynd, 
which  appeared  soon  after,  is  also  very  graphic,  and  con- 
veys many  oseftd  recollections  connected  with  the  history 
of  Edinburgh: 

^^  Of  all  the  ancient  closes  of  Edinburgh,  Blackfiriars* 
Wynd  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  imposing,  and  there 
are  none  of  the  others  which  figure  so  prominently  in  history. 
It  formed  for  five  hundred  years  one  of  the  most  aristocratic 
districts  of  the  capital.  Here  the  Earls  of  Morton  lived, 
and  the  princely  St.  Clair,  Earl  of  Orkney,  whose  lady  was 
waited  upon  *  by  seventy-five  gentlewomen,  whereof  fifty-. 


185a  ANKALft.  549 

three  were  daughters  of  noblemen,  all  clothed  in  velvets  and 
silks,  with  their  chains  of  gold.'  Here  also  lived  the  Lords 
Home,  and  the  proud.  Archbishop  Beaton;  and  here  in 
latter  days  resided  the  good  Lady  Lovat;  and  here  one  of 
the  two  fashionable  Edinburgh  boarding-schools  was  situated, 
— the  duplicate  of  that  at  which  the  mother  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott  was  taught  to  curtsey  and  play  on  the  spinnet.* 
Here,  too,  stood  the  places  of  worship  of  the  two  extreme 
ecclesiastical  parties  in  Scotland,  which  at  the  Bevolution 
the  Establishment  failed  to  include, — the  Cameronians  ou 
the  one  hand,  and  the  Episcopalians  on  the  other*  It  was 
in  the  Episcopalian  Chapel  of  Blackfriars'  Wynd  that  Dr. 
Johnson,  accompanied  by  Boswell,  attended  divine  service 
during  his  visit  to  Edinburgh.  Famous  events,  too,  have 
occurred  on  the  narrow  area  of  the  Wynd.  Here  it  was 
that  some  of  the  fiercest  fighting  occurred,  in  that  affair  be- 
tween Hamilton,  Earl  of  Arran,  and  Douglas,  E^url  of  Angus, 
which  was  long  after  known  as  ^  Cleanse  the  Causey;'  and 
here  the  poet  Bishop  of  Dunkeld,  Gawin  Douglas,  told  the 
Archbishop  of  Glasgow,  who  had  armed  himself  for  the  fray, 
and  set  his  armour  a-ringing  by  striking  his  breast  in  ap* 
pealing  to  heaven,  that  he  was  to  have  nothing  to  do  with 
it,— that  his  ^  conscience  clattered;'  and  here,  in  the  succeed* 
ing  reign,  in  the  midst  of  a  fierce  melee^  the  Earl  of  Both- 
well  stabbed  to  the  heart  Sir  William  Stuart:  and  here 
Mitchell  the  Covenanter  shot  at  Archbishop  Sharp,  but, 
missing  his  aim,  merely  winged  the  Bishop  of  Orkney;  and 
here,  in  a  much  later  age,  the  physical  force  Protestants  of 
the  Gordon  mobs  gutted  a  Popish  chapel.  The  appearance 
of  the  place,  though  decay  has  been  busy  during  the  last 
half  centu^,  and  barbarous  innovation  busier  still,  continues 
to  speak  of  a  venerable  antiquity  sorely  reduced;  and  it  still 
bears  about  it  the  marks  of  a  decent  reUgious  profession. 
Liscriptions  in  raised  letters  still  preach  to  the  passenger  in 

•  The  Piano. 


550  BISTORT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

the  Saxon  tongue  of  three  centuries  ago,  and  testify  that 
'  Thb  fsib.  or.  THE.  Lord.  is.  the.  BEOxifNiNG.  of.  al. 
TISDOME. ;'  or  confess  God, — ^  Blissit.  im.  at.t..  his  gif- 
Tis/  or  testify  to  the  pietjr  of  the  original  founders — ^  In. 
THE.  Lord*  is.  mt.  hope.;*  while  in  the  interior  of  the 
houses,  pannelled  walls,  and  occasionally  a  carved  chimney 
or  marble  hearth,  show,  amid  squalor  and  filth,  that  when 
the  inhabitants  thought  more  of  the  future  life  than  they  do 
now,  they  enjoyed  more  of  the  good  things  of  the  present. 
It  does  seem  strange,  when  one  thinks  of  it,  how  entirely  the 
localities  of  the  dangerous  classes  have  changed  in  Scotland 
during  the  last  century.  It  is  only  a  hundred  and  five  years 
since  Edinburgh  was  captured  by  the  rebel  Highlanders, — 
fighting  men  reared  in  the  wilds  of  Badenoch  and  Lochaber, 
who,  as  shown  in  the  outbursts  of  1715  and  1745,  could  con- 
vulse a  kingdom  at  pleasure,  and  embroil  its  Grovemment; 
and  the  classes  which  formed  emphatically  the  ballast  of  the 
country  were  to  be  found  in  the  hearts  of  its  greater  dties, 
such  as  Edinbu^h  and  Glasgow,  inhabiting  the  closely-piled 
dwellings  of  the  Saltmarket,  or  the  tall  tenements  of  the 
Blackfriars*  Wynd.  All  has  since  changed.  Barbarism 
has  retreated  firom  the  outer  skirts  of  the  country  to  the 
centres  in  which  civilization  first  began;  just  as  when  the 
moon  begins  to  wane,  those  parts  of  its  suriace  first  become 
dark  that  in  its  increscent  state  first  catch  the  light.  Such 
of  our  Highlanders  as  evictions  and  forced  emigration  have 
left  to  our  country,  rank  among  its  saiest  and  most  trust- 
worthy people;  and  it  is  from  the  inhabitants  of  our  Salt- 
markets  and  Blackfriars*  Wynds  that  it  is  now  in  danger.** 

Ceotge  CxaxakUmn,  %orO  Cotrlniute* 

George  Cranstoun,  Lord  Corehouse,  was  a  branch 
of  the  noble  Scottish  family  of  Cranstoun.    He  be- 
gan with  a  militaiy  education,  but  ended  with  a  legal  one. 
He  passed  Advocate  in  1793,  and  became  Dean  of  Faculty 


185a  ANKAL&  551 

in  1823.  Cranstoun  was  appointed  to  the  judicial  bench  in 
182  6>  where  he  became  as  be  has  with  graphic  description 
been  called,  ^^  the  marble-faced  senatorial  Cranstoon."  He 
had  a  great  knowledge  of  law^  and  as  a  counsel  stood  very 
high.  It  was  alleged  that  the  composition  of  lus  character 
was  more  artificial  than  natural.  He  wrote  a  clever  jeu 
d^upriiy  called  '  The  Diamond  Beetle  case/  being  a  playful 
imitation  of  the  style  of  the  Scottish  judges  of  the  day. 
Sir  Walter  Scott  and  he  were  fellow  pupils  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Edinburgh  in  1788,  and  were  intimate  friends 
for  life.  Lord  Corehouse  retired  from  the  bench  in  1839| 
and  died  26th  June,  1850. 

The  Lord  Provost,  Magistrates,  and  Council,  on  1st  July, 
1B50,  conferred  the  freedom  of  the  city  on  General  Viscount 
Lord  Gough,  for  his  eminent  military  services  in  India. 
The  Lord  Provost  delivered  the  burgess  ticket  in  a  case 
of  crimson  velvet,  with  a  neat  address  to  the  veteran  warrior, 
to  which  Lord  Gough  replied :  ^^  Although  this  is  the  first 
time  that  I  have  visited  the  capital  of  Scotland,  I  have  some 
claim  on  Scotland  in  many  instances.  It  must  be  endeared 
to  me  from  the  remembrance  that  my  earliest  associates 
were  Scotchmen.  I  commenced  my  military  career, — that 
is,  the  active  part, — in  a  Scotch  regiment,  as  lieutenant 
in  the  78  th  or  Boss-shire  buffs,  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
I  had  the  good  fortune  to  have  served  under  a  Scotchman 
in  the  West  Indies,  who  will  be  long  well  remembered,  and 
his  memory  endeared  to  liis  countrymen, — Sir  Balpb  Aber- 
cromby.  I  have  served  at  a  later  period  in  the  Peninsula 
under  Lynedoch,  Cohnlle,  and  Brisbane, — all  your  distin- 
guished countrymen.  I  have  had  accompanying  me,  and 
was  nobly  sustained  in  China  and  the  East  Indies  by  Sal- 
toun,  Dick,  and  Wallace.  And,  gentlemen,  were  I  to  go 
through  the  alphabet,  I  might  place  the  initials  of  men  with 
whom  I  have  been  associated,  and  belonging  to  Scotland, 
who  are  an  honour  to  their  country,  and  nobly  supporting  it 


552  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

in  every  station  of  life  as  soldiers  and  citizens;  It  is  there- 
fore most  gratifying  to  have  such  au  honour  conferred  ou 
me  this  day.  Why  do  I  recapitulate  these  glorious  associa- 
tions with  your  annalst^t  is  to  prove  how  justly  I  should 
estimate|«-and  I  assure  you  how  justly  I  do  estimate  per- 
mitting me  to  become  a  burgess  of  this  great  city.  The 
Lord  Pit>vo8t  has  very  fuUy  and  kindly,  and  most  flatter- 
ingly, entered  into  a  detail  of  my  services.  In  all  of  these 
services,  let  me  say  that  Scotchmen,  the  name  of  Scotland, 
and  the  deeds  of  Scotland,  are  to  be  distinctly  seen.  Upon 
a  recent  occasion  when  her  Majesty  was  graciously  pleased 
to  place  me  in  the  position  I  now  hold,  I  was  associated 
with  one  bom  in  this  neighbourhood,  one  who  will  long 
be  remembered  for  his  deeds  and  services  to  the  empire 
— I  allude  to  the  Marquis  of  Dalhousie.  What  has  been 
the  result  of  the  wise  counsel,  the  foresight,  and  exertions  of 
that  great  man?  My  Lord  Provost,  the  subject  can  be 
comprehended  in  a  few  words, — I  trust,  and  I  sincerely 
hope,  the  permanent  peace  of  India.  As  your  Lordship  has 
justly  remarked,  no  class  of  men  are*  more  interested  in 
peace  than  the  soldiers,  who  meet  the  difficulties,  the  dan- 
gers, the  privations,  and  the  miseries  of  war.  But,  my  Lord 
and  gentlemen,  not  only  has  peace  been-  acquired  under  the 
auspices  of  that  nobleman,  but  the  result  has  been  the  ac- 
quisition of  the  richest  territory  in  India,  added  to  our  great 
possessions  in  that  mighty  hemisphere.  These  are  the  re- 
sults of  the  operations,  the  services  and  conduct  of  the  army 
in  India,  a  great  portion  of  which — I  allude  to  the  British 
portion,  belong  to  Scotland.  I  arrived  in  this  most  in- 
teresting capital  with  anticipations  certainly  very  high. 
They  have  been  more  than  realised,  because  I  now  doubly 
feel  connected  interestingly  with  Scotland  and  with  Edin- 
burgh. I  feel  that  you  may  well  be  proud  of  this  very 
beautiful  city  and  town,  and  that  there  are  few  circum- 
stances in  a  long  career,  or  few  objects  that  have  more 
avrested  pay  Scttention,   than  that   beautiful  memorial  of 


1850.  ANNALS.  553 


Scodand  that  adorns  your  dtjy — a  monument  raised  to  a 
man  endeared  to  civilized  Europe,  and  who  has  done  so 
much  honour  to  Scotland — ^need  I  name  Sir  Walter  Scott." 

The  House  of  Commons  on  Ist  July,  1850,  voted  £10,000 
towards  the  erection  of  a  National  Gallery  in  Edinburgh. 
Opposition  was  offered  to  the  grant  as  forming  a  bad  prece- 
dent, it  being  contended  that  Edinburgh  had  no  greater 
claim  for  this  than  a  provincial  town,  but  the  government 
very  properly  maintained  that  London,  Edinburgh,  and 
Dublin,  as  the  ancient  capitals  of  the  respective  kingdoms, 
were  entitled  to  a  distinction,  and  that  there  was  a  national 
feeling  in  regard  to  them.  This  new  building  is  to  be 
erected  on  the  Earthen  Mound,  the  western  division  of  it  to 
be  appropriated  for  a  National  Gallery,  and  the  eastern  for 
the  Koyal  Scottish  Academy.  ' 

A  great  improvement  was  also  at  this  time  accomplished 
in  front  of  the  Register  House,  by  the  throwing  back  of  the 
screen  wall  to  a  line  with  the  Prince's  Street  houses,  and 
widening  the  thoroughfare  at  the  entrance  to  Leith  Street, 
— a  place  formerly  very  dangerous  for  accidents.  These 
changes  leave  a  beautiful  broad  pavement  in  front  of  tlie 
Register  House. 

Great  anxiety  was  felt  in  Edinburgh  regarding  Sir  Robert 
Peel.  Intelligence  of  his  death  was  telegraphed  to  this  city, 
3d  July,  1850.  This  distinguished  statesman,  to  whom  the 
country  was  so  much  indebted,  died  on  the  previous  day,  the 
result  of  a  fall  from  his  horse. 

The  British  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science, 
which  had  not  met  in  Edinburgh  since  1834,  again  held  its 
annual  meeting  in  the  city,  commencing  31st  July,  1850,*- 
Sir  David  Brewster  being  in  the  chair  as  President;  Class 
rooms  at  the  University  were  appropriated  to  the  various 
sections  for  their  meetings. 

During  this  session  of  the  Association,  Geology  seemed  to 
be  the  most  popular  and  attractive  of  the  sciences.  Various 
geological  parties  in  and  around  the  city  took  place.     One 


554  mSTOBT  OF  edinbuboh. 

of  these  began  their  rambles  on  the  Calton  HilL  Thev 
were  headed  by  Sir  Boderick  Mnrchison.  Mr.  Maclaren 
conducted  the  partyi  and  successively  described  the  geolo- 
gical features  of  the  hilL  He  stated  that  the  western 
part  of  the  hill  consisted  of  porphyry  and  traptuff;  and 
the  eastern  of  numerous  alternations  of  sandstone,  wacke, 
bituminous  shale,  and  clay  ironstone.  The  portiim  of 
sub-marine  rocks  opposite  the  second  flight  of  stairs  firom 
Waterloo  Place  he  described  as  analogous  to  the  fragments 
that  issue  from  Yesuyius  and  Graham's  Island,  or  rather  as 
re-airanged  under  water. 

An  explanation  was  given  of  the  alternation  of  porphy- 
ritic  strata  with  beds  of  traptuff,  as  shown  in  the  many  sec- 
tions afforded  by  the  walks.  These  alternations  are  at  least 
four,  and  the  distinction  between  the  compact  porphyry  and 
the  rubbishy  constitution  of*  the  tuff  is  vexy  conspicuooa. 
The  latter,  it  may  be  explained,  is  a  volcanic  product,  com- 
posed of  sand,  ashes,  and  fragments  of  rock,  which  have  been 
poured  in  layers,  fluid  from  the  presence  of  water,  over  the 
side  of  the  mountain.  By  most  people  those  in  the  cliff 
fronting  Bridewell  would  be  mistaken  for  beds  of  sandstone. 
A  vein  of  greenstone  crossing  through  the  beds  composing 

the  hill  was  pointed  out  and  carefully  examined  by  all  pre- 
sent. 

Near  Greenside  Church  they  came  upon  a  mass  of  stra- 
tified traptuff  lying  in  an  inclined  position;  and,  re-ascend- 
ing that  steep  road,  they  came  to^a  mass  of  smooth  polished 
rock,  by  the  side  of  the  path,  which  is  used  by  children  in 
sliding.  Sir  Boderick  Murchison  stated  that  there  were 
many  examples  of  that  species  of  rock  in  this  neighbourhood, 
presenting  an  undulating  smooth  surface;  and  at  the  last 
meeting  of  the  British  Association  in  Edinburgh,  in  1834| 
he  had  a  stout  contest  with  Agasm'z  and  Dr.  Buckland,  who 
saw  in  them  nothing  but  the  action  of  glaciers,  although 
Professor  Forbes  had  stated  that  he  did  not  think  any  rocks 
around  Edinburgh  were  polished  by  teirestrial  ^ciers. 


1850.  ANKALB.  555 

Upon  the  oceuion  be  referred  tO|  he  visit^  Corstorphine 
Hill  with  the  eminent  persons  named,  when  a  surface  was 
pointed  out  magnificently  grooved,  which  the  Dean  of  West- 
minster immediately  declared  could  only  have  been  smoothed 
and  polished  by  ice.  Some  workmen  having  been  engaged 
at  a  quarry  near,  he  saw,  firom  the  surface  which  they  had 
exposed,  different  undulations  and  grooves,  which  had  no- 
thing more  to  do  with  glacial  action  than  Pluto. — ^Mr.  Mao- 
laren  said  he  had  been  informed  by  a  member  of  the  Koyal 
Sode^,  that  when  the  pieoe  of  rock  under  consideration 
was  laid  bare  about  1816,  it  was  not  only  pohshed  but 
scratched. — ^Mr.  Chambers  expressed  his  conviction  that  the 
rock  was  not  glacially  smooth;  and  pointed  out  a  fragment 
in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  which,  though  not  so  smooth, 
exhibited  stronger  evidence  of  glacial  action. 

The  singular  phenomenon  of  ^  crag  and  taill '  was  next 
explained,  by  Mr.  Maclaren.  He  showed  that  while  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  hill  there  was  a  great  mass  of  soil,  the 
west  was  laid  bare  at  every  part,  thus  giving  rise  to  the  pe- 
culiar phenomenon. 

In  passing  towards  Arthur  Seat,  the  party  visited  a  re- 
markable piece  of  rock  surface,  lately  exposed  at  the  St. 
Margaret's  Railway  Works,  being  at  the  north  base  of  the 
hiU.  This  afforded  a  fine  illustration  of  the  paper  on  the 
Glacial  Phenomena  of  Edinburgh,  by  Mr.  Chambers.  A 
projecting  mass  of  rock,  measuring  about  twenty  feet  each 
way,  has  visibly  been  smoothed  down  into  a  rounded  form, 
with  deep  groovings,  and  a  vast  number  of  scratches  or 
strise,  all  of  which  ran  in  nearly  one  direction,  namely,  be- 
tween a  point  to  the  south  of  west  and  one  to  the  north  of 
east.  The  excellent  preservation  of  this  surface  has  been 
owing  to  the  protective  covering  of  a  bed  of  boulder  clay 
lying  immediately  above  it.  Martine  of  Paris,  who  has 
studied  glacial  action  in  Switzerland  and  Scandinavia,  pro- 
nounced it  to  be  an  admirable  example  of  the  rocks  over 
which  ice  had  anciently  passed.    Mr.  Chambers  stated  that. 


656  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

preciselj  similar  rock-6ui*face8  had  been  exposed  on  the 
soath  front  of  the  hill,  when  the  superficial  matter  was  re- 
moved for  the  forming  of  the  Queen^s  Driye.  He  drew  at- 
tention to  the  striking  fact  that  the  grooves  and  stris  were 
all  in  the  same  direction  as  the  hill  of  the  Old  Town  of  Ed* 
inbarghy  the  groovings  on  Corstorphine  Hill,  and  the  many 
ridges  and  hollows  which  vary  the  sorfiice  of  the  Lothians, 
leading  to  the  conclusion  that  ice,  in  some  form  and  circum* 
stances,  though  it  might  be  difficult  to  say  what  these  were, 
had  passed  in  deep  volume  through  the  valley  of  the  Frith 
of  Forth.  The  company  was  finally  called'  to  examine  the 
rounded  boulders  which  had  been  taken  out  of  the  super- 
ficial clay,  many  of  which  had  flattish  sides  striated  in  the 
dhrection  of  their  length,  as  had  been  described  of  smaller 
blocks  on  the  preceding  day  by  Mr.  Hugh  Miller. 

The  magnificence  of  the  panoramic  landscape  excited  the 
admiration  of  the  party,  especially  as  the  sun  now  shone 
forth  in  all  his  splendour,  enabling  it  to  be  seen  to  the 
greatest  advantage. 

The  party  having  arrived  in  the  Queen's  Park,  took  up  a 
position  exactly  opposite  St.  Anthony's  Chapel.  Mr.  Mao- 
laren  then  described  the  lower  portion  of  Arthur's  Seat  as 
consisting  chiefly  of  sandstone,  and  the  upper  entirely  of 
trap  or  whinstone.  The  whole  configunttion  of  the  hill  was 
owing  to  the  inequality  of  the  hardness  of  the  rocks,  and  no 
doubt  the  hollow  of  the  valley  had  once  been  filled  up  by 
sandstone,  but  having  been  mixed  with  shale,  and  probably 
shaken  and  firactured  by  the  upheaving  of  the  trap-beds,  it 
had  been  swept  away  by  the  action  of  the  sea.  The 
sandstone  and  shale  were  now  scarcely  visible,  being  covered 
by  beds  of  greenstone  forming  the  precipice,  behind  which, 
is  a  hard  mass  of  sandstone  and  shale,  capable  of  growing 
whins  or  furze.  The  quany  on  the  hill  consisted  of  sand- 
stone. Two  beds  of  greenstone  form  St.  Anthony's  ridge 
aiid  the  Hunter's  Bog  ridge,  so  that  the  general  structure  ot 
the  hill  was  simply  this, — that  wherever  there  is  a  prominent 


1850.  ANNAL&  557 

ridge,  trap  would  be  found  of  a  hard  and  durable  quality ;  and 
wherever  there  were  hollows,  they  consisted  of  sandstone  or 
shale^  or  of  traptuff.  The  summit  of  the  hill  is  composed  of 
a  blue  compact  basalt,  which  had  turned  red  at  the  top  firom 
the  oxydization  of  the  iron.  It  acted  like  a  plug  closing  an 
ori&ce  through  which  large  bodies  bad  issued;  and  it  was 
rather  a  singular  fact,  that  high  up  the  hill  above  St.  An- 
thony's Chapel  were  found  greenstone  blocks  belonging  to 
the  greenstone  of  the  opposite  crags,  which  led  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  valley  had  not  been  hollowed  out  at  the 
time  of  their  transport.  Sir  K.  Murchison  said,  that  the 
phenomena  could  not  be  explained  according  to  the  present 
configuration  of  the  land,  but  the  facts  stated  formed  the 
best  argument  for  the  posterior  elevation  of  Arthur^s  Seat. 
If  Arthur's  Seat  were  a  recent  basaltic  eruption,  it  must 
have  been  accompanied  ipvith  an  extraordinary  dislocation  of 
the  connecting  land,  in  which  the  harder  lumps  would  be 
left,  and  the  softer  parts  carried  away;  but  existing  causes 
might  act  for  a  thousand  millions  of  years,  and  yet  never 
produce  a  single  groove  in  the  valley,  for  there  was  no  water 
to  make  them. — Mr.  Nicol  stated  that  in  the  middle  of  the 
last  century  a  water-spout  burst  over  the  hill,  and  dividing 
its  force,  one-half  took  the  direction  of  Duddingston,  and 
did  some  damage  to  property,  and  the  other  was  discharged 
upon  tlie  westeni  side,  and  tore  up  a  channel  that  was  still 
visible. 

The  next  phenomena  described  were  the  crag  at  St.  An- 
thony's chapel,  and  the  disturbed  masses  of  basalt  below  and 
around  it.  Mr.  Maclaren  stated  his  opinion  that  the  hill  at 
St.  Anthony's  Chapel  was  a  subsidence  from  the  precipice 
behind;  and  that  the  ^  knowe  *  below  it,  projecting  into  the 
Queen's  Park,  had  been  an  integral  portion  of  the  Bog 
Crag  stretching  along  the  valley.  Some  discussion  took 
place  about  the  mass  of  polished  rock  in  the  valley,  which 
is  striated  obliquely,  and  was  believed  to  have  been  occa- 
sioned by  the  friction  of  the  older  rocks.    Another  block, 


558  HISTpBT  OF  EDINBTIBaH. 

once  a  portion  of  Saliaboiy  Crags,  waa  pointed  oat  on  the 
north-west  side  of  Arthur's  Seat,  in  a  position  at  least  fifty 
feet  above  the  paternal  mass.  The  ascent  to  the  summit 
of  Arthur's  Seat  was  accomplished  in  safetj,  and  at  each 
successive  elevation  the  deepest  admiration  was  expressed  a£ 
the  magnificent  extent  of  scenery  within  the  view.  The 
extensive  prospect  from  the  summit,  embracing  the  high- 
piled  and  dingy  outline  of  ^  Auld  Reekie/  the  lair  and  fertile 
country  stretching  south  and  westwards,  and  the  noble  es-' 
tuary  of  the  Forth,  with  its  islands  reposing  in  tranquil 
beauty,  excited  in  turn  a  tribute  of  admiration  from  the  dis- 
tingtushed  strangers. 

Mr.  Maclaren  gave  a  general  description  of  the  geology 
of  the  hill.  His  theory  of  Aithur's  Seat  was, — that  it  was 
the  crater  of  a  sub-marine  volcano, — that  the  bed  of  green- 
stone and  porphyry  they  had  passed  in  the  ascent  had  ex- 
isted before  the  eruption, — that,  after  the  outburst,  the 
traptuff  waa  thrown  up,  and  completely  surrounded  the 
crater,  the  blocks  being  generally  angular,  proving  they 
had  not  been  brought  firom  a  distance.  There  were  three  or 
four  different  basalts  or  greenstone  on  the  north-east  part 
of  the  hill,  and  there  were  probably  seven  or  eight  beds 
placed  around  its  apex;  and  the  fact  that  so  many  of  the 
different  rocks  were  igneous,  was  a  presumption  that  they 
had  issued  from  the  crater.  The  presumption  also  was,  that 
when  the  apex  was  the  crater  of  the  volcano,  the  materials 
which  formed  the  traptuff  were  evolved  and  disposed  around 
it, — ^that  afterwards  the  greenstone  on  the  south-east  slope 
was  thrown  out  in  the  shape  of  lava,  which  subsequentiy 
blocked  up  the  orifice,  when  the  action  of  the  sea  for  ages 
washed  away  the  more  prominent  parts,  and  left  the  hill  in 
its  present  form. 

The  party  next  descended  to  the  Queen's  Drive  by  Dun- 
sapie  Loch,  where  an  immense  number  of  blocks  were  seen 
near  the  road,  belonging  to  the  hill  above,  where  there  is 
no  precipice,  and  which  must  have  been  detached  by  some 


1850.  AKKAL&  559 

powerfbl  ugency.  The  side  of  the  hill  laid  open,  as  if  in  a 
section,  by  the  Queen's  Drive,  afforded  ample  materials  for 
the  examination  of  the  party;  and  Sir  Boderick  Murchison 
expressed  a  desire  to  have  a  section  made  of  the  side  of  the 
hill  as  it  was  thus  exposed.  Near  the  portion  of  the  Drive 
at  Sampson's  Bibs  a  polished  surface  of  rock  built  in  the 
wall  was  examined.  It  was  deeply  striated,  as  if  by  some 
mechanical  action;  and  the  phenomenon  excited  consider- 
able discussion. 

Salisbury  Cra^  next  occupied  the  attention  of  the  party. 
It  is  a  greenstone  of  the  ordinary  composition,  resting  upon 
sandstone,  and  forming  a  bold  fine  precipice.  The  rock 
seems  to  have  been  thrown  oat  in  a  state  of  igneous  fusion 
at  a  veiy  high  temperature,  as  is  exhibited  by  the  colour  of 
the  sandstone  having  been  changed  from  white  to  brown. 
The  greenstone,  it  is  believed,  was  injected  in  a  state  of 
fusion  between  the  sedimentaiy  rocks  which  underlie  and 
cover  it. 

On  2d  August,  another  large  Geological  party  visited 
Bavelstone  and  Corstorphine  Hill,  Mr.  Bobert  Chambers 
acting  as  their  Cicerone. 

On  5tb  August,  a  public  dinner  of  the  Association  took 
place  at  the  Hopetoun  Booms.  Upwards  of  two  hundred 
members  were  present, — Sir  David  Brewster  in  the  chair, 
supported  by  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  the  Marquis  of  Nor- 
thampton, Sir  Boderick  Murchison,  and  Professor  Sedgwick. 

The  farewell  meeting  of  the  Association  took  place  in  the 
Music  Hall,  on  7tb  August,  when  Sir  David  .Brewster  de- 
livered a  short  valedictory  address.  On  this  occasion  the 
Lord  Provost  introduced  General  Jung,  the  Nepaulese  Am- 
bassador, and  Prime  Minister  of  the  Bajah  of  Nepaul  to  the 
meeting.  His  highness  was  in  full  Oriental  costume,  his 
dress  glittering  with  diamonds,  emeralds,  and  other  precious 
stones.  He  glanced  with  a  quick  and  acute  eye  at  the  sin- 
gular European  scene  thus  presented  to  him,  so  very  different 
and  so  much  more  elevating  than  the  strifes  and  bloody 


560  HIBTORT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

warfiue  to  whicli  he  had  been  iocnstonied  in  his  native 
country. 

Her  Bojral  HighneWi  the  Dnchesi  of  Kent,  mother  of  the 
reigning  Sovereign,  Qneen  Victoria,  arriTed  in  Edinborgfa, 
9th  Aogost,  1850.  According  to  her  own  wish  ahe  was  re- 
ceived priratelj,  and  drove  to  Bmrrfs  Hotel,  Qneen  Street; 
on  the  11th,  Her  Bojal  EBghneas  attended  pnbHc  mwahip 
at  St.  John's  Episcopal  Chapel,  Prince's  Street,  going  and 
returning  qnietlj  on  foot. 

Considerable  interest  was  excited  in  Edinbui^gh,  hj  the 
announcement  that  Qneen.  Victoria  was  again  to  visit  the 
city,  and  spend  a  day  or  two  there,  thongh  not  in  state,  on 
her  way  to  her  Highland  home,  Balmoral  Castle.  A  num- 
ber of  citizens  proceeded  by  railway  to  Berwick  on  29th 
August,  1850)  and  bad  the  gratification  of  witnessing  her 
Majesty  open  the  new  gigantic  bridge  across  the  Tweed, 
connecting  England  and  Scotland,  and  thus  completing  ^  the 
last  act  of  the  Union,"  which  was  the  appropriate  inscription 
on  a  beautiful  triumphal  arch,  under  which  the  Sovereign 
passed« 

Again  to  illustrate  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  period 
we  here  narrate  a  number  of  the  interesting  details  regarding 
this  royal  visit  to  the  Scottish  capital,  and  the  first  abode 
of  her  Majesty  at  her  ancient  palace  of  Holyrood,  which 
had  not  been  inhabited  by  a  queen  regnant  since  1561, 
neariy  two  hundred  yean  before,  when  her  predecessor, 
Queen  Mary,  arrived  from  France. 

During  the  whole  morning  of  29th  August,  the  utmost 
anxiety  and  enthusiasm  prevailed  amongst  all  classes  in 
Edinburgh.  The  crowds  of  visitors  who  had  arrived  be- 
gan to  throng  the  streets  at  an  early  hour,  and  towards 
noon  the  citizens  also  began  to  move  towards  the  various 
places  from  which  it  was  anticipated  that  the  most  favour- 
able view  might  be  had  of  her  Majesty.  At  one  o'clock  the 
military  took  up  various  stations,  fix>m  the  Palace  of  Holy- 
rood  to  the  temporary  station  erected  by  the  North  British 


1850.  ANNAU.  561 

Railway  Company  at  Meadowbank^ — a  line  of  nearly  half  a 
mile  in  extent;  and  crowds  gathered  above  the  slopes  on 
either  side  of  the  road,  growing  rapidly  more  dense  as  the 
day  advanced.    The  preparations  made  for  the  reception  of 
her  Majesty  were  of  an  elegant  and  tasteful  description. 
The  character  of  the  Boyal  visit  was  snch  as  to  dispense 
with  extensive  or  ostentatious  display,  although  there  were 
not  wanting  everywhere  expressive  symbols  of  the  popular 
regard.    The  landing  platform  was  about  one  hundred  yards 
west  of  the  tunnel  bdow  the  Portobello  road,  and  on  the 
south  side  of  the  railway.    It  wes  ninety-seven  feet  in  length 
and  ten  feet  broad,  and  was  covered  with  crimson  doth. 
Immediately  in  the  centre  was  the  vestibule  leading  to  the 
spacious  flight  of  steps  by  which  her  Majesty  was  conducted 
to  the  royal  carriage  in  waiting  on  the  Abbeyhill  Boad, 
close  by  Parsonsgreen.    The  vestibule  was  roofed  by  an  ele> 
gant  wooden  canopy,  finished  in  front  to  resemble  festoons 
of  drapery.    The  royal  crown  surmounted  the  centre,  with 
the  letters  Y.  A.  on  each  side.    The  neighbouring  slope 
was  fenced  by  light  frame-work,  and  decorated  with  heather; 
and  at  the  entrance  to  the  flight  of  steps,  on  each  side,  two 
elegant  pedestals  were  placed,  bearing  urns  filled  by  splendid 
exotics,  in  the  fall  luxuriance  of  flower.     The  interior  of 
the  landing  gallery,  or  pavilion,  had  a  superb  and  tasteful 
appearance.     The  roof  was  finished  in  the  style  of  an  Ara- 
bian tent,  by  graceful  festoons  of  white  and  pink  draper}'. 
Between  each  column  the  pink  drapezy  assumed  the  form 
of  an  Arabian  arch ;  and  tlie  pillars  themselves  were  finished 
with  pink,  fluted  white.     The  steps  were  laid  veith  crimson 
cloth  from  end  to  end;  but  the  carpet  placed  for  her  Majesty 
to  walk  from  the  railway  train  to  the  royal  carriage  was 
formed  of  the  ^'  Stuart  hunting  taitan.'*     The  pavilion  was 
open  at  the  sides,  and  was  separated  from  the  neighbouring 
green  slopes  by  a  neat  rustic  railing.     The  steps  were  lined 
on  each  side  between  the  pillars  by  a  superb  collection  of 

exotic  plants  from  the  conservatories  of  the  Duke  of  Buc- 

2  K 


562  mSTOBT  OF  edinburoh. 

cleach  and  other  noblemen  and  gentlemen.  The  old  gate- 
way closing  upon  the  road  was  entirely  removed,  and  its 
place  filled  by  a  splendid  crimson  cnrtain,  hong  with  much 
taste,  and  forming  an  appropriate  termination  to  the  bean- 
tiM  vista  of  the  interior.  The  gateway  whence  the  Queen 
emerged  to  the  royal  carriage  was  spanned  by  a  graceful 
areh,  decorated  with  bay  leaves,  and  dahlias  interspersed. 
It  was  surmounted  by  a  floral  crown,  with  an  anchor  sus- 
pended, and  displayed  on  each  side  the  initials  Y.  A.  in 
flowers.  The  eflect  of  the  whole  was  striking, — ^the  bright 
hues  of  the  dahlias  presenting  a  pleasant  contrast  to  the 
sombre  green. 

Various  buildings  displayed  floral  emblems  and  devices, 
and  the  numerous  flags  which  waved  from  their  summits 
imparted  an  aspect  of  gaiety  to  the  whole.  The  most  pro- 
minent object  was  an  immense  crown  of  evei^eens  and 
flowers  erected  near  the  line.  The  ordinary  engines  and 
trains  were  also  decorated  in  every  variety  of  style. 

Emerging  from  the  landing  gallery,  the  first  object  that 
attracted  attention  was  the  tasteful  and  beautiful  gallery 
erected  in  the  grounds  of  Parsonsgreen.  The  firont  dis- 
played a  series  of  five  Roman  arches,  divided  in  the  centre 
by  a  projecting  arch,  bearing  a  handsome  entablature,  en- 
riched by  chaste  and  elegant  cornices  and  mouldings.  The 
columns  of  the  arches  were  wreathed  in  bay  leaves,  and  en- 
circled at  the  base  with  splendid  exotics.  Floral  stars 
adorned  the  pannelling,  with  the  exception-  of  the  centre 
which  displayed  graceftil  festoons  of  dahlias.  The  cornices 
and  other  parts  of  the  entablature  were  enriched  with  patersB 
formed  of  a  single  dahlia;  and  between  each  arch  floral 
festoons  were  hung  with  exquisite  taste.  The  ornaments  on 
other  parts  of  the  gallery  were  of  the  same  rich  and  varied 
character;  and  the  erection  being  embosomed  amidst  the 
fine  old  trees  that  adorn  the  park,  the  eflect  was  unique  and 
striking. 

Along  the  whole  route  galleries  were  erected  at  every 


1850.  ANNALS.  563 

eligible  locality  for  the  accommodation  of  the  spectators. 
They  were  in  general  plain  but  Babstantial  stractoreB,  with- 
out ornaments.  Several  were  in  the  immediate  neighbour* 
hood  of  the  Palace;  and  an  extensiye  platform  erected,  under 
the  express  sanction  of  the  authorities,  on  the  sloping  ground 
which  borders  the  road  through  the  Queen's  Park,  was 
estimated  to  contain  above  3,000  persons,  and,  with  other 
galleries,  was  filled  long  before  the  hour  of  her  Majesty's  ar- 
rival by  respectable  parties. 

A  large  area  on  the  old  Abbeyhill  road,  fronting  the 
]*oyal  landing-place,  was  secured  by  closing  the  thoroughfare 
from  the  Abbeyhill  on  the  one  side  and  the  Portobello  road 
on  the  other.  Near  the  watering-place  a  barrier  and  gallery 
were  erected  to  prevent  communication  from  behind;  and  a 
similar  erection  was  placed  across  the  Portobello  road,  oppo- 
site Parsonsgreen  lodge.  The  area  thus  enclosed  was  occu- 
pied by  the  royal  carriages,  the  military  escort,  and  other 
parties. 

The  guard  of  honour  at  Meadowbank,  consisting  of  one 
captain,  and  fifty  men  of  the  93d  Highlanders,  with  a 
Queen's  colour,  and  the  band  of  the  13th  light  dragoons,  ar- 
rived on  the  ground  shortly  before  two  o'clock,  with  a  ca- 
valry escort  of  one  officer  and  twenty  men  of  the  13th  light 
dragoons;  and  shortly  after,  a  party  of  about  fifty  of  the 
Boyal  Archers  arrived  to  act  as  a  body  guard. 

The  route  of  the  Koyal  party  through  the  Queen's  Park 
was  lined  on  both  sides,  from  the  railway  station  to  the 
Palace  Yard,  by  the  93d  Highlanders.  From  this  point 
the  Boyal  Artillery  lined  the  way  to  the  front  of  the 
Palace,  where  the  High  Constables  of  Edinburgh  and  Can- 
ongate  were  drawn  up  on  each  side  of  the  entrance.  The 
bands  of  the  93d  regiment  and  Koyal  Archers,  with  a  party 
of  the  13th  dragoons,  occupied  the  yard  in  front  of  the 
Palace. 

No  access  was  allowed  to  the  Palace  Yard,  and  bamcades 
were  erected  across  the  streets  leading  to  it,  to  prevent  any 


564  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

approach.  At  the  eastern  extreoiity  of  the  Park,  near  Par- 
aonagreen^  a  strong  barricade  was  raised  to  prevent  the  pres- 
sure of  the  crowd;  and  a  similar  erection  was  formed  near 
the  south^-eastem  angle  of  the  Palace. 

The  time  of  her  Maj^y's  expected  arrival  was  generally 
known  in  the  city;  and  firom  an  early  hour  crowds  of  well 
dressed  parties  poured  in  a  continuous  stream  through  all 
the  dififerent  avenues  leading  to  the  Queen's  Park.  Each 
moment  augmented  their  numbers;  and  in  a  short  time 
every  eminence  likely  to  command  a  view  of  the  royal  pro- 
gress was  occupied.  The  great  extent  and  diversified  sur- 
face of  the  Parky  forming  on  the  north  side  a  vast  natural 
amphitheatre,  was  of  ample  capacity  for  the  immense  con- 
course; and  the  gay  and  varied  colours  of  the  ladies'  dresses 
presented  a  striking  and  singular  contrast  to  the  more  som- 
bre shades  of  the  verdant  hill  side.  The  sloping  ground 
along  the  road  through  the  Park,  was  occupied  throughout 
its  whole  extent.  This  road  is  here  formed  near  the  old 
^  Duke's  Walk,"  which  is  supposed  to  have  derived  its  name 
firom  having  been  the  favourite  promenade  of  James  YU., 
when  Duke  of  York,  during  his  residence  at  Holjrrood.  It 
is  difficult  to  conceive  a  more  magnificent  avenue  to  the  old 
Palace  of  our  Eaugs.  The  morning  was  marked  by  bright 
sunshine,  but  the  sky  became  dull  and  uncertain  in  the 
course  of  the  forenoon.  Notwithstanding  its  threatening 
aspect,  however,  at  about  two  o'clock  the  clouds  passed  ofi^, 
and  the  sun  shone  brightly  out  from  a  blue  sky. 

The  Royal  Archers,  the  Queen's  Body  Guard  for  Scot- 
land, had  arrived  at  the  royal  landing-place  shortly  before 
three  o'clock,  headed  by  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch,  on  horse- 
back, in  the  uniform  of  the  honourable  corps,  and  wearing 
the  blue  riband  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter.  The  guard  of 
honour  of  the  93d  EQghlanders  was  drawn  up  opposite  the 
gateway,  with  the  band  of  the  13th  light  dragoons  on  tiie 
right.  The  cavalry  escort  was  stationed  on  the  left,  towai-ds 
the  entrance  to  the  Queen's  Park, 


1850.  ANNAUS.  565 

The  first  intiination  of  the  approach  <^  her  Majesty  was 
the  arrival  of  the  special  train  fix>m  Berwick  with  the  Direc* 
tors,  which  reached  Meadowbank  a  few  minutes  before  five 
o'ciock* 

The  royal  train  made  its  appearance  at  Meadowbank 
about  five  minutes  past  five  o'clock,  and  was  ji^reeted  with 
loud  acclamations  by  the  assembled  spectators  who  were  ac- 
oommodated  in  the  windows  of  the  buildings  at  Meadowbank 
and  on  the  neighbouring  eminences. 

The  royal  engine  was  decorated  in  a  superb  and  tasteful 
style.  It  displayed  in  front  a  semicircular  arch  of  wood, 
bearing  in  gilded  letters  the  inscription,  ^'  Ood  save  the 
Queen,"  and  having  a  magnificent  stag  suspended  from  its 
centre.  This  arch,  with  another  behind,  was  surmounted 
by  a  large  and  splendid  royal  crown,  resting  on  a  beautiful 
cushion  of  crimson  velvet  The  motto,  ^'Long  live  the 
Royal  Family,"  was  displayed  on  one  side  of  an  elliptical 
arch,  which  extended  longitudinally  along  the  engine,  hav- 
ing on  the  reverse  side,  ^'  Success  to  the  British  Empire.*' 
This  arch  was  surmounted  by  a  floral  crown,  having  a 
Scotch  thistle  on  each  side,  with  the  initial  letters  '^  V.  A." 
at  the  extremity.  Two  beautiful  stars  were  suspended  firom 
the  centre  of  the  arch;  and  by  the  tasteful  addition  of  shrubs 
and  evergreens  a  pleasing  effect  was  produced.  The  tender 
was  decorated  with  festoons  of  crimson  velvet,  with  yellow 
tassels,  displayed  on  framework,  and  ^interspersed  with 
flowers.  The  crown  and  decorations  were  the  workmanship 
of  the  men  in  the  employment  of  the  Company  at  St.  Mar- 
garet's station,  and  reflected  great  credit  on  their  taste  and 
skill.  The  pilot  engine  was  adorned  with  evergreens,  and 
displayed  in  firont  a  floral  crown. 

There  were  waiting  on  the  platform  to  receive  her  Ma- 
jesty, the  Duke  of  Buccleuch,  Lord-Lieutenant  of  the 
County  of  Edinburgh;  Major-General  Sir  James  Riddell, 
Commanding  the  Forces  in  Scotland,  and  a  brilliant  StaflT; 


566  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

also  Sheriff  Gordon;  and  a  number  of  the  Directors  of 
the  North  British  Railway. 

Her  Majesty  and  Prince  Albert  occapied  a  splendid 
saloon  carriagei  in  which  were  the  Prince  of  Wales  and 
Prince  Alfred*  Her  Majesty  was  attired  in  a  dress  of  deep 
mourning,  as  were  also  Prince  Albert  and  the  royal  children. 
The  Princess  Boyal  and  the  Princess  Alice  travelled  in  a 
separate  carriage,  under  the  charge  of  the  Marchioness  of 
Douro.  Her  Majesty,  on  alighting  from  the  royal  carriage, 
was  receiyed  by  Sir  George  Grey.  The  Duke  of  Buccleuch 
was  immediately  recognised  by  :the  Queen,  who  shook  his 
Grace's  hand  most  cordially. 

Her  Majesty  having  bowed  her  acknowledgments  to  Mr. 
Learmonth,  Chairman  of  the  North  British  Railway  Com- 
pany, ascended  with  Prince  Albert  the  flight  of  steps  lead- 
ing to  the  royal  carriage.  The  royal  party  were  greeted 
with  hearty  applause  by  the  distinguished  party  on  Mr. 
Mitchell  Innes's  platform,  among  whom  the  venerable  figure 
of  the  Lord-Justice-General  Boyle  was  conspicuous.  Prince 
Albert  sat  on  the  left  of  the  Queen,  and  the  Prince  of  Wales 
and  Princess  Royal  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  carriage.  A 
squadron  of  dragoons  closed  round  the  carriage,  which  was 
also  guarded  on  either  side  by  the  Royal  Archers,  as  her 
Majesty's  Body  Guard.  Lord  Elcho,  now  Earl  of  Wemyss, 
walked  by  the  side  of  the  royal  carriage,  and  the  Duke  of 
Buccleuch  and  Major-General  Riddell  followed  immediately 
behind  on  horseback.  The  second  carriage,  which  contained 
Prince  Alfred  and  the  Princess  Alice,  with  the  Marchioness 
of  Douro  and  the  Hon.  Miss  Lennox,  was  followed  by  a 
third,  in^  which  were  Sir  George  Grey  and  Sir  James 
Clark.  A  fourth  carriage,  with  some  other  attendants, 
composed  the  procession,  which  was  closed  up  with  a  party 
of  the  dragoons.  In  this  order  the  Queen  leisurely  pro- 
ceeded through  the  Duke's  Walk  and  Park  to  Holyrood. 

The  royal  party,  including  those  in  immediate  attendance 
on  her  Majesty,  were  in  deep  mourning, — the  Queen  being 


1860.  ANNAL&  567 

very  plainly  attired  in  a  black  di^ess,  with  shawl  of  the  same 
colour,  and  a  cased  bonnet,  in  which  a  single  black  feather 
was  placed.  Her  Majesty  looked  remarkably  well,  even 
better  than  when  last  in  the  Scottish  metropolis.  Prince 
Albert,  who  wore  a  grey  overcoat  and  check  tronsers,  seemed 
also  in  good  health;  as  did  also  the  whole  of  the'  royal 
children,  who  were  dressed  with  perfect  simplicity  and  taste, 
and  had  altogether  a  very 'engaging  appearance. 

Her  Majesty,  on  emerging  into  the  Park  fix>m  the  Abbey* 
hill  road,  seemed  impressed  with  the  magnificence  of  the 
scene  before  her.  She  was  hailed  with  an  enthosiastic 
burst  of  acclamation  from  the  multitude  in  the  Park.  The 
Queen  and  Prince  Albert  seemed  to  feel  deeply  this  loyal 
expression  of  homage,  and  testified  their  gratification  by 
repeated  acknowledgments.  The  shouts  of  welcome  were 
caught  up  by  the  more  distant  crowds,  and  echoed  from 
peak  to  peak  of  the  surrounding  hills.  Every  successive 
stage  in  the  royal  progress  witnessed  the  same  manifestations 
of  enthusiastic  feeling,  till  the  arrival  of  the  party  at  the 
gate  of  Holyrood.  Their  approach  was  announced  by  a 
salute  from  tlie  Castle,  and  immediately  on  their  entrance 
the  standard  was  hoisted  on  a  flagstafi*  which  had  been 
erected  above  the  entrance. 

Her  Majesty  and  the  Prince  were  observed  repeatedly  to 
remark  on  the  more  prominent  features  of  the  scenery. 
The  dark  and  irregular  mass  of  the  Old  Town  at  once  ar- 
rested the  attention  of  the  royal  party,  who  afterwards 
glanced  with  apparent  interest  at  the  precipitous  sweep  of 
Salisbury  Crags  on  the  one  side,  and  the  Calton  Hili,  with 
the  fine  structures  that  adorn  its  summit,  on  the  other. 

Early  in  the  afternoon  a  guard  of  honour  of  the  93d 
Highlanders,  consisting  of  one  captain,  two  subalterns,  and 
fiffy  men,  with  the  Queen's  colour  and  band,  was  in  attend- 
ance at  Holyrood  Palace.  A  party  of  the  Royal  Archers, 
under  the  command  of  the  Barl  of  Morton,  was  stationed  in 
front  of  the  Palace,  with  the  colours  and  the  fine  band  of 


56S  BISTORT  OF  EDINBURGH. 

the  corps.  The  Magistrates  of  Canongate  in  their  robes 
of  office  and  the  different  bodies  of  High  Constables  of  the 
city  and  suburbs  were  also  in  attendance* 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  eorUgtj  her  Majesty  and  Prince 
wAibert,  with  the  other  members  of  the  Soyal  fiimilj, 
alighted  from  the  carriage.  Her  Majesty  and  Prince 
Albert  having  again  recognised  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch, 
heartily  shook  hands  with  his  Grace  as  they  entered  the 
gateway.  In  the  quadrangle  and  colonnade  of  the  Palace 
were  a  select  and  distinguished  party  of  the  nobility  and 
gentry,  who  greeted  her  Majesty  and  Prince  Albert  with 
silent  and  respectful  homage.  The  Lord  Provost,  Sir  Wil- 
liam Gibson  Craig,  M.  Mavison,  French  Consul,  and  the 
Hon.  B.  F.  Primrose,  were  also  present.  Her  Majesty  then 
retired  to  the  State  apartments. 

IxL  the  evening  the  following  guests  had  the  honour  of 
joining  the  Boyal  dinner  party  at  the  Palace: — ^The  Duke 
and  Duchess  of  Buccleuch,  the  Duke  of  Bozburghe,  the 
Bight  Honourable  the  Lord  Provost,  the  Earl  of  Morton, 
Major-General  Sir  James  Biddell,  Mr.  Sheriff  Gordon, 
and  the  Hon.  Mr.  Murray.  The  Lord  Provost  had  the 
honour  to  kiss  hands  on  a  special  presentation  by  Sir  Geoi^ 
Grey.  • 

On  30th  August,  1850,  her  Majesty,  Prince  Albert,  and 
the  Boyal  children,  attended  by  the  Marchioness  of  Douro 
and  Colonel  Gordon,  left  the  Palace  by  the  new  private  en- 
trance at  the  south-east  corner  of  the  Palace  Gardens,  be- 
tween nine  and  ten  o'clock,  and  proceeded  in  two  carriages, 
each  drawn  by  two  horses,  to  the  Victoria  Boad,  along  which 
they  proceeded  to  Dunsapie  Loch.  From  the  point  im- 
mediately opposite  the  Loch  the  royal  party  proceeded  on 
foot  to  the  summit  of  Arthur's  Seat,  and  the  morning  being 
serene  and  beautiful,  her  Majesty  was  enabled  to  enjoy  the 
unrivalled  scenery  which  this  splendid  view  affords.  After 
viewing  the  scenery,  her  Majesty  returned  to  the  Palace, 
having  been  absent  about  two  hours. 


1850.  AKKAL&  569 

The  day  was  observed  as  a  general  holiday  in  Edinborgli, 
in  honour  of  the  laying  of  the  foundation-stone  of  the  Na- 
tional GaUerj  on  the  Mound.  This  ceremonial  had  been 
looked  forward  to  with  considerable  interest  for  some  time 
by  the  members  of  the  Itoyal  Scottish  Academy  and  the 
friends  of  the  fine  arts,  and  also  by  the  citizens  at  large, 
more  especially  as  the  presence  of  royalty  in  the  city  was  to 
be  associated  with  the  auspicious  event,  and  as  the  Cionsort 
of  the  Queen  had  kindly  undertaken  to  officiate  on  the  oc- 
casion. Preparations  corresponding  to  the  importance  of 
the  event  had  been  in  progress  for  weeks;  and  the  Earthen 
Mound,  the  site  of  the  proposed  national  edifice,  exhibited 
signs  of  more  than  usual  bustle,  from  the  many  artificers 
employed  in  erecting  wooden  galleries  to  accommodate  the 
spectators  of  tlie  pageant,  and  strong  barricades  to  preserve 
a  lai'ge  enclosed  space,  to  the  south  of  the  Institution,  for 
those  taking  part  in  the  ceremony. 

The  various  sides  of  this  area  were  surrounded  by  the 
wooden  balconies  already  mentioned.  On  the  side  running 
parallel  with  the  back  of  the  Royal  Institution,  and  com- 
municating with  it  by  means  of  a  raised  wooden  passage, 
which  was  decorated  with  evergreens,  stood  the  gallery 
erected  for  the  Commissioners  of  the  Board  of  Manufactures 
and  their  friends.  No  expense  seemed  to  have  been  spared 
upon  this  erection.  It  was  tastefully  covered  with  crimson 
cloth  and  with  pink  calico.  The  cloth  was  drawn  up  along 
the  front,  so  as  to  form  graceful  festoons,  from  the  sides  of 
which  handsome  tassels  depended;  and  vases  of  flowers  were 
placed  in  the  centre.  The  union  jack  floated  from  the  sum- 
mit and  from  the  comers  of  the  structure;  while  other  flags, 
bearing  appropriate  inscriptions,  were  displayed  at  other 
points.  The  royal  arms  were  conspicuously  displayed  on 
the  tympanum  of  the  pediment;  and  the  whole  had  a  most 
imposing  and  elegant  appearance,  being  in  fine  proportion 
to  the  handsome  building  of  the  Royal  Institution  behind. 


570  HISTORY  OF  JBDINBUB6H. 

This  stractnre  was  filled  with  a  brilliant  assemblage  of 
ladies,  for  the  most  part  belonging  to  the  fiunilies  of  the 
aristocracj,  among  whom  were  the  Duchess  of  Boccleocfa, 
the  Dachess  of  Roxborghe,  the  Countess  of  Boseberry, 
the  Countess  of  Morton,  Ladj  BelhaTen,  Lady  Ber- 
riedale,  and  Lady  Harriet  Sattie.  Among  the  gentlemen 
present  were  Lord  Haddington  and  Lord  Belhaven.  Sey- 
eral  of  the  gentlemen  were  dressed  in  militarj  and  naval 
uniforms;  and  the  picturesque  garb  of  old  Gaul  was  also  to 
be  observed. 

On  the  west  side  of  the  area  was  erected  the  Grand 
Stand, — so  called  from  its  size,  being  capable  of  accommo- 
dating about  a  thousand  people, — decorated  with  several 
flags,  and  on  which  were  seated  the  Magistrates  and  Town 
Council  of  the  city  in  their  robes  of  office,  the  Magistrates 
of  Canongate  and  Portsburgh,  the  Professors  of  the  Uni- 
versity in  their  robes,  the  Paving  Board,  the  Police  Com- 
missiouers,  the  Magistrates  and  Council  of  Leith  and  of 
other  neighbouring  boroughs,  and  several  other  pnbUc 
bodies,  besides  a  great  number  of  the  public  who  had  re- 
ceived special  admission.  A  smaller  platform  was  erected 
immediately  to  the  south  end  of  this  larger  one,  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  students  attending  the  School  of 
Design. 

The  sides  of  the  area  to  the  south  and  to  the  east  were 
lined  with  an  extensive  range  of  galleries  resting  upon  the 
inclined  surface  of  the  ground,  and  designed  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  public,  on  payment  of  a  sum  of  money. 
The  parties,  however,  who  had  the  charge  of  these,  refosed 
to  let  them  except  at  an  exorbitant  rate;  and  the  conse- 
quence was,  as  often  happens,  they  overreached  them- 
selves, for  there  would  not  be  above  two  hundred  people 
present,  although  the  seated  platform  was  capable  of  con- 
taining nearly  two  thousand, — a  circumstance  which  very 
much  marred  the  effect  of  tliis  imposing  scene.    That  these 


IS-W.  ANNALS.  571 

blanks  were  not  caused  by  any  want  of  interest  on  the  part 
of  the  public,  was  folly  testified  by  the  enormous  assemblage 
which  covered  the  slopes  beyond. 

The  area  was  guarded  by  a  large  body  of  the  pensioner 
corps,  and  picquets  were  stationed  at  yarious  points  on  the 
Mound  to  preserve  order.  The  band  of  this  corps  were 
stationed  in  the  inside  of  the  area,  as  well  as  the  band  of  the 
Royal  Archers.  Bodies  of  the  High  Constables,  with  their 
official  batons,  were  also  on  the  ground. 

The  spot  occupied  by  the  foQndatbn*stone  of  the  National 
Gallery  was  near  the  centre  of  the  area.  The  stones  were 
two  beautiful  blocks  firom  Cmigleith,  about  five  feet  square; 
and  the  upper  one  was  attached  to  a  rope  and  pulley,  by 
which  it  could  be  transferred  to  its  proper  place.  A  flooring 
of  board  was  laid  with  crimson  cloth,  from  the  Commis- 
sioners* gallery  to  the  spot,  alongside  of  which,  as  the  royal 
body  guard  were  placed  the  Company  of  Archers,  who 
arrived  on  the  ground  shortly  after  twelve  o'clock. 
Amongst  these  were  the  Duke  of  Boxburghe  and  the  Earl 
of  Morton. 

.While  all  that  art  could  thus  contribute  to  enhance  the 
effect  of  the  ceremonial  was  had  recourse  to,  the  weather, 
throughout  the  w4iole  of  the  day,  was  all  that  could  be 
wished,  the  sky  being  of  a  cloudless  azure,  and  a  bright 
sun  shining  overhead,  tempered  with  a  gentle  breeze  from 
the  west. 

As  might  therefore  be  expected  from  the  interest  of  the 
occasion  and  the  fineness  of  the  weather,  the  city  was  early 
astir,  and  the  various  streets  along  which  it  was  arranged 
Prince  Albert  should  proceed  from  the  ancient  Palace  of 
Holyrood  were  fiUed  with  crowds  of  well-dressed  persons  of 
all  ranks  and  ages.  Although  there  could  not  be  said  to  be 
that  profusion  of  flags  and  banners  which  would  have 
adorned  the  streets  had  it  been  consistent  with  the  arrange- 
ments and  feelings  of  her  Majesty  to  grace  the  ceremonial 


572  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBUBOH. 

with  her  preflence,  and  althoof^  there  was  an  all  bnt  entire 
absence  of  floral  wreaths  on  the  occasion,  still  the  nnion«jack 
and  flags  of  other  descriptions  might  be  seen  here  and  there, 
waving  along  the  line  of  Prince's  Street.  What  was,  how- 
ever, wanting  in  external  decoration  along  the  line  of  pro- 
cession was  amply  compensated  for  by  the  smiling  &ce8  of 
the  moving  masses,  the  crowd  being  so  dense  as  to  render  it 
no  easy  matter  for  one  to  thread  his  way  through  it;  and  by 
the  female  beanty  congregated  in  the  balconies  and  windows, 
all  of  which  were  crowded  long  before  the  hour  when  the 
Prince  was  expected  to  make  his  appearance. 

About  twelve  o'clock,  the  13th  light  dragoons,  who  had 
at  first  taken  up  their  position  in  firont  of  the  Boyal  Insti- 
tntion,  extended  their  line  to  the  foot  of  St.  Andrew's  Street; 
and  the  remainder  of  the  space  to  the  Palace  was  lined  by 
the  93d  Highlanders  and  the  Mid-Lothian  yeomanry, — 
the  latter  extending  along  the  London  Boad  to  the  Abbey 
Hill. 

At  a  quarter  past  twelve,  the  royal  carriage,  which  was 
drawn  by  four  horses,  drew  up  in  firont  of  the  Palace;  and 
the  guard  of  honour  immediately  turned  out.  At  twenty 
minutes  to  one  his  Royal  Highness  Prince  Albert  took  his 
place  in  the  carriage,  accompanied  by  the  Marquis  of  Aber- 
com,  the  Hon.  Colonel  Gordon,  and  the  Hon.  Colonel 
Phipps.  The  royal  cortege  proceeded  at  a  leisurely  pace, 
by  Abbey  Hill,  Begent  Boad,  and  Waterloo  Place,  to  the 
Mound,  preceded  by  two  dragoons,  with  the  carriage  of  Mr. 
Sheriff  Gordon,  followed  by  the  Right  Hon.  the  Lord  Pro- 
vost in  his  carriage, — the  whole  procession  closing  with  a 
detachment  of  the  13th  light  dragoons. 

On  every  point  of  the  route  his  Boyal  Highness  was  re- 
ceived with  great  demonstrations  of  applause;  and  at  some 
points  the  scene  was  magnificently  grand.  The  High 
School  presented  a  most  animated  appearance,— every  cre- 
vice, firom  the  lower  railing  to  the  highest  point  of  the 


1850.  ANKAL8.  573 

portico,  being  entirelj  covered  with  ftshionably  dreaffed 
spectators,  who  greeted  his  Royal  Highnees  with  waving  of 
hats  and  handkerchiefs,  and  long«continned  cheering.  The 
Calton  Hill,  with  its  craggy  sides  and  grassy  slopes,  was 
covered  to  the  very  summit  with  many  thousands  of  spec- 
tators^ Nelson's  Monument  was  also  crowded  on  every 
balcony;  and  every  elevated  spot  in  the  line  of  procession 
was  occupied  by  masses  of  spectators,  while  the  windows 
were  teeming  with  fair  &ces. 

The  scene  at  this  time  was  peculiarly  striking,  viewed 
from  the  foot  of  the  Mound  at  Prince's  Street  Eastward, 
stretching  as  far  as  the  Calton  Hill,  a  long  line  of  human 
beings  was  to  be  seen,  all  apparently  intent  on  one  object, 
namely,  to  get  a  sight  of  his  Boyal  Highness  Prince  Albert. 
The  martial  weapons  of  the  military  were  distinctly  visible 
as  they  glittered  in  the  sun ;  and  the  light  and  varied  hues 
of  the  ladies'  dresses  finely  contrasted  with  the  sombre  head- 
pieces worn  by  the  masculine  portion  of  the  spectators, 
and  added  to  the  brilliancy  of  the  spectacle.  If  any  thing 
was  required  to  add  picturesqueness  to  the  scene,  it  was 
supplied  by  the  groups  clustering  the  highest  parts  of 
the  Scott  Monument  on  the  one  side  of  the  valley,  and 
the  top  of  the  Bank  of  Scotland,  immediately  opposite,  on 
the  other  side;  while  turning  a  little  easterly,  and  to  the 
south  of  the  Boyal  Institution,  the  Free  Chui*ch  College 
was  seen  contributing  its  share  to  fill  up  the  magnificent 
picture,  as  its  square  towers  were  also  filled  by  anxious  and 
admiring  spectators.  The  base  of  the  College  also  presented 
an  imposing  scene.  The  rising  ground  southward  from  the 
enclosed  area  was  covered  with  one  dense  mass,  which  mu$t 
have  consisted  of  many  thousands,  range  overtopping  range, 
and  giving  a  fine  effect  to  the  whole. 

The  band  of  the  93d  Highlanders,  who  took  up  their  posi- 
tion at  the  east  end  of  Prince's  Street,  on  the  approach  of  his 
Itoyal  Highness  played  the  National  Anthem,  as  did  also 


574  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBUfiOH. 

the  bond  of  the  13th  light  dragoons  at  the  entrance  to  the 
Institution. 

Intimation  of  Prince  Albert's  approach  to  the  Soyal  In- 
stitution was  communicated  far  and  wide  bj  the  discharge 
of  a  salute  from  the  Castle. 

His  Boyal  Highness  was  received  at  the  fit>nt  gate  of  the 
Institution  by  the  Commissioners  of  the  Board  of  Manu- 
factures who  were  to  officiate  at  the  ceremony,  namely,  the 
Lord-Justice-General,  Alexander  Maconochie,  Esq.,  the 
Duke  of  Buccleuch,  K.6.,  Sir  George  Clerk,  Bart.,  MJ*. 
Sir  John  Watson  Gt>rdon,  and  Sir  William  Gibson-Craig, 
Bart.,  M.P. 

Prince  Albert  then  entered  the  Picture  Gallery. 

The  catalogue  of  the  pictures  was  presented  to  the  Prince 
by  the  Hon.  Bouverie  Primrose,  the  Secretary  of  the  Board. 
The  Prince  took  a  rapid  survey  of  the  works  which  adorn 
the  Gallery,  of  which  he  expressed  his  high  admiration; 
after  which  his  .Royal  Highness  left  the  Gallery,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  the  platform  behind  the  Institution,  to  lay  the 
foundation-stone,  accompanied  by  the  Lord-Justice- General. 

On  appearing  on  the  Commissioners'  galleij.  Prince  Al- 
bert was  received  with  enthusiastic  applause,  the  bands 
playing  the  national  anthem.  He  recognised  and  saluted 
the  noble  ladies  who  were  seated  upon  the  platform. 

His  Royal  Highness  having  descended  from  the  gallery, 
proceeded  along  the  platform  to  the  spot  where  the  founda- 
tion-stone was  to  be  laid,  accompanied  by  the  Lord  Provost 
on  the  right,  and  the  Lord-Justice-General  on  the  left. 

The  Commissioners  formed  a  semicircle  around  his  Royal 
Highness,  who  had  taken  his  station  immediately  opposite 
the*  stone.  The  immense  assembly  were  uncovered  during 
the  ceremony 

Principal  Lee  then  offered  up  the  following  prayer: — 

*'  We  bless  Thee,  0  thou  King  of  Nations,  who  hast  appointeoh 
our  times  and  the  places  of  our  habitation,  that  Thou  hast  assigned 
us  a  goodly  portion  in  a  land  which,  though  subject  to  the  dis- 


1850.  ANNAL&  575 

advantages  of  variable  aeasoni,  tmoertain  harveeU,  and  oomuer- 
oial  fluctuationft,  poeaesaea  the  eminent  distinction  of  being  tbe 
abode  of  rational  liberty  and  equal  laws,  and  tbe  marvelloiis  light 
of  Christian  truth,  by  which  the  soul  of  man  is  sanotifted  and 
saved. 

"  Orod  of  our  Fathers,  do  good  in  Thy  good  pleasure  to  this 
beloved  land,  that  peace  may  be  in  all  our  borders  and  prosperity 
in  our  palaces,  and  tiiat  over  all  the  glory  of  our  sanctuaries  Thou 
mayest  create  a  defence. 

^'  O  Thou  by  whom  kings  reign  and  princes  decree  justice,  be- 
stow Thy  choicest  blessings  on  our  Soverogn  Lady  Queen  Vic- 
toria, giving  her  length  of  days,  abundance  of  peace,  and  the  dur- 
able riches  of  righteousness;  and  grant  that  all  the  acts  of  her 
Government  may  promote  the  national  prosperity,  the  repose  of 
other  States,  and  the  glory  of  Thy  holy  name.  Vouchsafe  also 
Thy  special  favour  to  her  Boyal  Consort  Prince  Albert,  to  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  and  all  the  Boyal  Family;  may  they  all  be  en- 
riched with  the  grace  of  the  Most  High,  may  goodness  and  mercy 
follow  them  through  life,  and  may  they  dwell  in  the  house  of  the 
Lord  for  ever. 

"  We  pray  for  the  counsellors  and  ministers  who  surround  the 
throne  and  watch  over  the  public  interests;  for  the  nobles  and 
senators  of  the  land;  for  the  judges  and  magistrates,  and  parti- 
cularly for  those  who  bear  rule  in  this  city ;  and  for  the  whole 
body  of  the  inhabitants,  that  wisdom  and  knowledge  may  be  the 
stability  of  our  times,  and  the  fear  of  the  Lord  our  treasure. 

^  O  thou  Supreme  Disposer  of  our  lot,  without  whose  guidance 
and  aid  all  our  devices  and  labours  must  fail,  we  pray  that  Thou 
mayest  countenance  and  bless  the  undertaking  now  about  to  com- 
mence. Under  Thy  protection  may  the  work  be  conducted 
safely  to  a  prosperous  termination,  and  may  the  edifice  now  to  be 
founded  not  only  prove  a  monument  of  taste,  and  a  conspicuous 
ornament  to  this  fair  city,  but  may  it  forward  tbe  cultivation  of 
the  highest  branches  of  art  and  industry,  by  being  a  repository  of 
exquisite  designs  and  ingenious  inventions,  thus  accelerating  the 
progress  of  civilisation,  and  multiplying  the  sources  of  liberaJ  and 
refined  enjoyment,  giving  at  the  same  time  such  a  direction  to  the 
early  efforts  of  native  genius  struggling  with  difficulties  as  may 
raise  obscure  and  humble  names  to  the  undisputed  possession  of 
well-earned  reputation,  and  contributing  essentially  to  the  intel- 
lectual and  social  improvement  of  the  human  race. 

*'  And  now,  0  our  God,  fulfil  in  us  all  the  good  pleasure  of 


576  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBOH. 

Thy  goodoeM,  and  the  woric  of  &iUi  with  power,  that  we  may  all 
be  partaken  of  the  graoe  which  bringeth  salvaticHi,  and  adorn  the 
doetrine  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  in  all  things,  that  when  the 
fashion  of  the  world  shall  have  passed  away,  and  all  the  cares  and 
labours  of  mortality  shall  be  over  and  gone,  we  may  have  a  name 
and  a  place  within  the  walls  of  the  house  not  made  with  hands, 
eternal  in  the  heavens.  And  to  Thy  great  and  excellent  name, 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  be  glory  for  ever.    Amen.** 

The  Lord-Jttstice-Generaly  Boy k,  after  shaking  hands  with 
the  Piincey  presented  the  trowel  to  his  Boyal  Highness.  It 
was  made  of  silver  gilt,  emblaasoned  with  the  royal  arms,  and 
bore  the  following  inscription: — ^^  Presented  by  the  Board 
of  Trustees  for  Manofactares,  &c.j  in  Scotland,  to  his  Royal 
Highness  the  Prince  Albert,  on  his  laying  the  first  stone  of 
the  National  Gallery  at  Edinburgh,  30th  August,  1850." 
His  Royal  Highness  having  received  the  trowel,  then  ad- 
vanced to  the  stone,  accompanied  by  several  of  the  Com- 
missioners. Mr.  Maconochie  deposited  in  the  cavity  of  the 
stone  a  bottle,  which  contained  a  number  of  documents  be- 
longing to  the  Board  of  Manufi&ctures,  the  coins  of  the 
realm,  the  Act  of  Parliament  for  the  erection  on  the  Mound 
of  a  National  Gkllery,  and  copies  of  several  of  the  Edin- 
burgh newspapers.  A  plate  was  also  deposited,  of  which  the 
following  is  a  copy: — 

On  the  dOth  day  of  August,  in  the  Tear  of  our  Lord 
One  Thousand  Eight  Hundred  and  Fifty, 

and  of  the 
Tliirteenth  Year  of  the  Reign  of  her  Majesty 

VICTORIA, 

QUSBN  OF  OtlBAT  BBITADT  AND  UtBLAND, 

THIS  STONE, 

the  Foundation  of  a  Building  to  be  Erected, 

through  the  Munificence  of  Parliament, 

on  this  and  the  Ground  adjacent, 

acquired  for  that  purpose, 

by  her  Migesty's  Board  of  Trustees 

for  Arts,  Fisheries,  and  Manu&ctures,  in  Scotland, 

and  destined  to  oontain  a 


186a  ANKALS.  577 

NATIONAL  AND  OTHER  GALLEBIES, 
For  objeoU  ooimaoled  with  the  promotion  of  tho 

Fine  Arts, 

iras  laid  by  his  Royal  Highness 

Thb  Pbih ox  Albbbt, 

Con8ori.of  her  Most  GrMnous  Mi^esty  the  Queen^ 

Burroanded  by 

Her  M%)esty*s  loyal  and  datifial  Sul^eots, 

The  OommissioDers  of  the  Board  of  Arts,  Fisheries, 

and  MannAustores, 
The  Lord  Provost  and  Magistrates  of  the 

City  of  Edinburgh, 

The  Oorporation  of  the  Royal  Institution, 

of  «rhich  her  Majesty  is  Hereditary  President 

and  Patron, 
The  Principal  and  Professors  of  the  University 

of  Edinburgh, 

The  President  and  Members  of  the 

Royal  Scottish  Academy,' 

and  by  a  great  concourse  of  her  Mi^esty's  affectionate 

and  devoted  people. 

His  Boyal  Highness  then  with  the  trowel,  took  a  portion 
of  the  mortar  from  the  service-plate, — a  small  mahogany 
board, — ^which  was  presented  by  Mr.  Playfair,  the  architect 
of  the  bnilding,  and  spread  it  on  the  stone  amid  the  most 
enthosiastic  cheering.  The  upper  atone,  which  was  sus- 
pended  from  the  crane,  was  then  lowered  to  its  bed  and  the 
bolts  secured. 

The  Dake  of  Buccleuch  then  applied  the  square  to  the 
angles  of  the  stone;  the  blamb  rule  was  applied  by  Sir 
Greorge  Clerk,  and  the  level  by  Sir  John  Watson  Gordon. 
These  measurements  being  concluded,  the  mallet  was  pre- 
sented by  Sir  William  GKbson-Craig  to  his  Royal  Highness, 
who  applied  it  to  the  stone  in  a  most  tradesman-like  fashion, 
drawing  forth  the  renewed  applause  of  the  multitude. 

This  having  completed  the  ceremony  of  the  laying  of  the 

first  stone  of  the  National  Galleries,  his  Royal  Highness 

delivered  the  following  address,  the  Commissioners  having 

formed  themselves  into  a  semicircle  around  him : 

2  o 


578  HI8T0RT  OF  EDINBUBOH. 

**  QmsTLMiinar^'Sow  tlut  the  ceremonj  is  oondadad,  joa 
most  alloir  me  to  exproii  to  you  how  miioh  satu&etkm  it  has 
given  me  to  have  had  it  in  mj  power  to  comply  with  joor  invi- 
tation, and  to  lay  the  foundation*stone  of  this  important  nttionil 
institution^  and  that  this  should  have  ooinoided  with  the  moment 
when  her  Mi^esty  the  Queen  has  oome  among  you,  and  has  given 
you  a  Airther  proof  of  her  attachment  to  this  country  by  again 
taking  up  her  abode,  if  for  a  ^rt  time  only,  in  the  ancient  Pa- 
lace of  her  ancestors  in  this  capital,  where  she  has  been  received 
with  such  unequivocal  demonstrations  of  loyalty  and  affection. 

**  The  building  of  which  we  have  just  begun  the  foundation  is 
a  temple  to  be  erected  to  the  Fine  Artsr— the  Fine  Arts  which 
have  so  important  an  influence  upon  the  development  of  the 
mind  and  feeling  of  a  people,  and  which  are  so  generally  taken  as 
the  type  of  the  degree  and  character  of  that  development  that  it 
is  on  the  fragments  of  the  works  of  art,  come  down  to  us  from 
bygone  nations,  that  we  are  wont  to  form  our  esdnuite  of  the  state 
ci  their  civilization,  manners,  customs,  and  religion. 

*'  Let  us  hope  that  the  impulse  given  to  the  culture  of  the  fine 
arts  in  this  country,  and  the  daily  increasing  attention  bestowed 
upon  it  by  the  people  at  large,  will  not  only  tend  to  refine  and 
elevate  the  national  tastes,  but  will  also  lead  to  the  production  of 
works,  which,  if  left  behind  us,  as  memorials  of  our  age,  will  give 
to  after  generations  an  adequate  idea  of  our  advanced  state  of 
civilization. 

**  It  must  be  an  additional  source  of  gratification  to  me  to  find 
that  part  of  the  funds  rendered  available  for  the  support  of  this 
undertaking  should  be  the  ancient  grant,  which,  at  the  Union  of 
the  two  kingdoms,  was  secured  towards  the  encouragement  of  the 
fisheries  and  manufactures  of  Scotland,  as  it  aflfords  a  most 
pleasing  proof  that  these  important  branches  of  industry  have  ar- 
rived at  that  stage  of  manhood  and  prosperity,  that — ^no  longer 
requiring  the  aid  of  a  fostering  Government— they  can  maintain 
themselves,  independently  relying  upon  their  own  vigour  and 
activity,  and  can  now  in  their  turn  lend  assistance  and  support  to 
their  younger  and  weaker  sisters,  the  Fine  Arts. 

**  Gentlemen,  the  history  of  this  grant  exhibits  to  us  the  picture 
of  a  most  healthy  national  progress:  the  ruder  arts  connected  with 
the  necessaries  of  life  first  gaining  strength;  then  education  and 
science  supervening  and  directing  further  exertions;  and  lastly, 
tlie  arts,  which  only  adorn  life,  becoming  longed  for  by  a  prosper- 
ous and  educated  people.     May  nothing  disturb  tlus  progress. 


1850.  AKMAL&  579 

and  may,  by  Ot>d'8  bleiwing,  that  peace  and  proeperity  be  pre- 
served to  the  nation,  which  will  ensure  to  it  a  long  oontmuance  of 
moral  and  intellectoal  enjoyment." 

His  Bojal  Highness  bowed  to  the  CommissionerSy  and 
proceeded  along  the  platform^  accompanied  by  the  Lord- 
Justice-Greneral,  and  followed  bj  the  other  Coxnmianoners. 
After  passing  through  the  Boyal  Institation, — the  Prince 
took  leave  of  the  Glommissioners,  and  entered  his  carriage, 
amid  the  applause  of  the  immense  multitude  wbich  crowded 
Prince's  Street,  Hanover  Street,  and  the  neighbouring 
streets,  and  the  waving  of  hats  and  handkerchiefe  from  the 
windows  and  balconies,  which  were  still  crowded  with  bril- 
liant companies  of  ladies  and  gentlemen.  The  bands  struck 
up  the  Queen's  anthem,  and  his  Boyal  Highness  drove  off 
on  his  return  to  Holyrood.  In  the  carriage  with  the  Prince 
were  the  Marquis  of  Abercom  and  his  Royal  Highness's 
Secretaries,  the  Hon.  Colonel  Gt)rdon  and  the  Hon.  Colonel 
Phipps. 

His  Royal  Highness  was  attired  in  a  Field  Marshal's  uni- 
form, and  wore  the  riband  of  the  Order  of  the  Thistle,  as 
did  also  the  Marquis  of  Abercom. 

The  Duke  of  Buccleuch  wore  the  uniform  of  the  Lord- 
Lieutenant  of  the  County,  and  the  Riband  of  the  Order  of 
the  Garter.  The  Duke  of  Roxburghe  and  the  Earl  of 
Morton  wore  the  uniform  of  the  Royal  Archers,  the  former 
having  also  the  riband  of  the  Order  of  the  Thistle.  Sir 
William  Gibson-Craig  and  Sir  George  Clerk  wore  the 
dress  of  Deputy-Lieutenants;  the  Lord-Justice-General, 
Sir  John  Watson  Gordon,  and  Mr.  Sheriff  Gordon  appeared 
in  Court  dresses;  Lord  Berriedale  was  attired  in  a  Highland 
garb.  Besides  the  above,  and  those  already  named,  we  ob- 
served present  the  Earl  of  Cathcart,  Lord  Dalmeny,  Sir 
James  Forrest,  and  Sir  James  Anderson,  Lord  Provost  of 
Glasgow. 

In  the  afternoon,  about  four  o'clock,  her  Majesty,  Prince 
Albert,  and  the  Royal  children  again  left  the  Palace  in  two 


580  HISTORY  OF  EDmBUBGH. 

carriagefy  each  drawn  by  four  hones,  with  oatriders,  and 
attended  by  the  Marchioness  of  Doaro  and  suite,  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  a  drive  through  the  city,  and  visiting  some 
of  the  objects  of  interest  in  the  neighbourhood.  The  royal 
cortege  proceeded  by  the  Abbey  Hill,  along  the  London 
Boad  and  Prince's  Street,  and  on  to  Donaldson's  Hospital. 
On  the  royal  party  reaching  Prince's  Street,  a  number  of 
individuals,  anxious  if  possible  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  her 
^dAjeBtjj  hired  cabs,  and  fell  in  the  rear  of  the  cortege.  As 
her  Majesty  was,  however,  proceeding  at  a  dashing  pace,  it 
was  no  easy  matter  to  keep  alongside;  and  the  scene  at  one 
time  had  all  the  excitement  and  interest,  and  no  small  share 
of  the  danger,  connected  with  a  steeple-chase,  rather  than 
that  of  a  royal  progress. 

Her  Majesty  was  received  at  Donaldson's  Hospital  by  the 
Lord  Provost,  Mr.  Sheriff  Grordon,  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch, 
and  Sir  W.  Gibson-Craig,  M.P.;. who  escorted  the  rojral 
party  over  the  premises.  After  remaining  for  about  ten 
minutes,  her  Majesty  returned  by  the  same  route,  striking 
off,  however,  at  the  west  end  of  Prince's  Street.  The  royal 
party  proceeded  at  the  same  dashing  rate  along  the  Lothian 
Road,  by  the  back  of  the  Castle,  down  the  Lawnmarket, 
across  George  lY.  Bridge,  through  Bristo,  up  West  and 
East  Preston  Street,  which  brought  th^m  into  the  Royal 
Drive,  round  which  they  drove  in  the  direction  of  Dun- 
sapie.  They  then  proceeded  along  the  road  through  the 
Queen's  Park,  and  entered  the  Palace  by  the  front  entrance 
at  half-past  five  o'clock.  The  Duke  of  Buccleuch  accom- 
panied the  Royal  party  on  horseback  on  their  route  back  to 
Holyrood.  Her  Majesty  expressed  how  greatly  she  was 
delighted  with  what  she  had  seen  at  Donaldson's  Hospital. 

Several  thousands  of  people  had  assembled  in  the  Queen's 
Park  to  witness  her  Majesty's  return,  and  enthusiasticaDy 
cheered  her  as  she  and  her  suite  swept  past  them. 

The  Royal  children,  attended  by  the  Marchioness  of 
Doitro  and  Sir  James  Clark,  visited  the  Castle  in  the  fore 


185a  ANKAI^  581 

noon,  while  Prince  Albert  was  officiating  at  the  laving  of 
the  foundation-stone.  The  Barrackmaster  accompanied  the 
royal  party  through  the  different  places  of  interest, — visiting 
Queen  Mary's  Boom;  they  did  not,  however,  deem  it  safe 
to  visit  the  Crown  Boom,  on  account  of  a  reoent  case  of 
fever  near  that  apartment. 

Her  Majesty's  dinner  party  consisted  of  the  Lord-Justice- 
Greneral,  the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Bucdeuch,  the  Duke 
and  Duchess  of  Bozburghe,  the  Marquis  of  Abercom,  Earl 
and  Countess  of  Bosebery,  Earl  and  Countess  of  Hadding- 
ton, Earl  and  Countess  of  Morton,  Lord  and  Lady  Bel- 
haven,  Sir  William  Gibson-Craig,  M.P.,  Colonel  Grey,  and 
the  Bev.  Principal  Lee.  The  dinner  took  place  at  ten 
minutes  past  eight;  and  a  Highland  piper  who  was  present 
played  several  Scottish  airs  on  the  occasion,  with  which  her 
Majesty  was  highly  gratified.  She  also  took  the  oppo> 
tunity  of  expressing  her  great  satisfeurtion  with  the  manner 
in  which  she  had  been  received  in  Edinburgh  since  her 
arrival,  and  with  the  conduct  of  the  citizens  at  large.  This 
subject  was  the  theme  of  conversation  during  the  evening; 
and  it  cannot  but  be  gratifying  to  all  who  have  a  regard  for 
the  credit  and  reputation  of  the  city. 

Her  Majesty  expressed  the  highest  satisfaction  with  the 
Palace;  she  had  no  previous  conception  that  such  spacious 
accommodation  awaited  her  in  her  northern  metropolis. 

On  the  morning  of  the  31st  August,  1850,  her  Majesty, 
who  is  remarkable  for  punctuality  in  all  her  movements, 
left  Holyrood  Palace  a  little  past  eight  o'clock.  The 
Queen  was  attired  in  mourning,  exactly  the  same  as  on  her 
arrival,  and  Prince  Albert  was  dressed  in  a  paletot,  closely 
buttoned  to  the  chin.  The  young  Princesses  were  also 
dressed  in  mourning,  and  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  Prince 
Alfred  were  dressed  in  kilts,  the  cloth  of  which  consisted  of 
fine  tweed,  and  had  light  plaids  wrapped  round  them.  They 
also  wore  Glengarry  bonnets. 

Her  Majesty  and  his  Boyal  Highness  Prince  Albert  fii^st 


582  HISTOBT  OF  EDINBUBOH. 

descended  the  stain,  followed  hj  the  Bojal  children,  Sir 
Greorge  Orej,  the  Marchioness  of  Dooroi  the  Hon.  Miss 
Lennox,  and  Miss  Hillyards.  The  Bojal  partj  were  re- 
ceived by  Sheriff  Gordon,  in  the  quadrangle,  and  hj  the 
Duke  of  Bucclench,  who  was  dressed  in  the  uniform  of 
Lord-Lieatenant  of  the  county,  and  by  Major*General 
Riddell,  Commander  of  the  Forces  in  Scotland,  outside 
the  gate. 

Four  royal  carriages,  each  drawn  by  four  horses,  were 
stationed  in  firont  of  the  Palace;  and  her  Majesty,  Prince 
Albert,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  the  Princess  Boyal,  en- 
tered the  first  carriage,  and  immediately  drove  off  at  a  rapid 
pace.  On  her  Majesty  taking  her  seat,  a  royal  salute  was 
fired  from  the  Castle;  and  while  the  peals  of  the  cannon 
were  resounding  through  the  city,  the  two  other  royal  chil- 
dren, accompanied  by  the  Marchioness  of  Douro,  and  the 
Hon.  Miss  Lennox,  drove  off  in  the  second  carriage,  followed 
by  Sir  George  Grey,  Sir  James  Clerk,  her  Majesty's  phy- 
sician, and  Colonel  Gordon. 

The  royal  cortege,  on  leaving  the  Palace  Yard,  the  en- 
trances to  which  were  crowded  with  people,  and  on  emerg- 
ing firom  the  barricades  to  the  south-east  of  the  Palace, 
wbdch  were  also  surrounded  by  a  dense  crowd,  was  received 
with  deafening  cheers;  and  its  progress  through  the  Queen's 
Park  to  St.  Margaret's  station  at  Meadowbank  was  received 
in  a  similar  manner  by  the  thousands  lining  the  road  the 
whole  way.  Her  Majesty  and  Prince  Albert  gracefully 
acknowledged  the  enthusiasm  displayed  along  the  route. 

A  guard  of  the  93d  Highlanders  was  drawn  up  in  front 
of  the  landing  place  to  the  railway  station  at  St.  Margaret's. 
The  band  of  the  dragoons  was  also  in  waiting  at  this  place, 
and,  on  her  Majesty's  arrival,  struck  up  the  National 
Anthem. 

The  train  which  was  to  convey  her  Majesty  to  Coupar- 
Angus,  on  her  route  north,  arrived  at  Meadowbank  station 
at  ten  minutes  past  eight  o'clock.    At  half-past  eight  her 


1850.  AKNAL8.  583 

Majesty  airived  there,  when  she  alighted  firom  the  carriage, 
and  entered  the  vestibule  leading  to  the  flight  of  steps  by 
which  her  Majesty  was  conducted  to  the  royal  railway  car- 
riage. The  arrangements  at  this  place  were  the  same  as  on 
her  Majesty's  arrival,  and  it  is  therefore  unnecessaxy  to  de- 
scribe them. 

Her  Majesty  and  Prince  Albert,  accompanied  by  the 
Prince  of  Wales  and  the  Princess  Boyal,  occupied  the 
splendid  saloon  carriage  reserved  for  their  use.  Pxince 
Alfred  and  the  Princess  Alice  travelled  in  a  separate  car- 
riage, under  the  charge  of  the  Marchioness  of  Douro  and 
the  Honourable  Miss  Lennox.  The  other  carriages  were 
occupied  by  her  Majesty's  attendants,  and  by  a  number  of 
the  Directors  of  the  North  British  and  Edinburgh  and  Glas- 
gow Railways.  Her  Majesty  bowed  her  acknowledgments 
repeatedly  to  the  distinguished  individuals  assembled  as  she 
departed. 

The  saloon  carriage,  which  was  lined  with  blue-figured 
satin,  was  furnished  with  two  easy  chairs  and  a  sofa,  and  a 
small  table  in  the  centre. 

The  royal  train  started  from  the  Meadowbank  Station  at 
twenty-five  minutes  to  nine  o'clock,  and  reached  the  ter- 
minus at  the  North  Bridge  five  minutes  after,  preceded  by 
a  pilot  engine.  The  station  was  filled  with  spectator^  and 
the  Lord  Provost,  who  had  been  employed  in  the  early  part 
of  the  morning  in  making  arrangements  for  having  the 
local  corps  of  pensioners  drawn  up  along  the  line  of  the 
railway  through  the  Prince's  Street  Gardens,  to  preserve  it 
from  encroachment  and  to  prevent  accidents,  was  in  waiting, 
in  case  his  services  might  be  required.  The  train  did  not 
however  stop,  hut  passed  on;  btit  her  Majesty,  on  observing 
his  Lordship,  graciously  bowed.  Crowds  of  people  lined 
the  sides  of  Prince's  Street,  and  such  part  of  the  Mound  as 
could  command  a  view  of  the  train  on  its  course,  to  whose 
loyal  demonstrations  her  Majesty  ever  and  anon  responded 


584  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

by  waving  her  handkerchief  firom  side  to  side  of  the  royal 
cama|^. 

While  all  the  internal  arrangements  and  accommodations 
in  Holyrood  Palace  were  such  as  to  have  merited  her  warm 
approval,  her  Majesty  has  been  greatly  inconvenienced  by 
the  want  of  suiScient  pleasure  grounds  adjoining,  where  she 
might  enjoy  that  daily  exercise  and  privacy  in  the  opei  air 
which  is  so  congenial  to  her  nature,  and  the  cultivation  of 
which  habit  must  afford  satisfaction  to  the  people,  and  it 
may  be  here  stated  historically,  that  since  her  accession  the 
whole  conduct  of  Queen  Victoria  has  been  such  as  to.  have 
endeared  her  to  the  country,  and  to  have,  amid  continental 
changes,  contributed  to  the  stability  of  the  British  throne. 

The  Queen  and  the  Royal  Family  returned  to  Holyrood 
Ealace  from  their  summer  residence  at  Balmoral,  on  the 
evening  of  10th  October,  when  the  grounds  around  the 
Palace,  the  ruins  of  St  Anthony's  Chapel  and  the  sur- 
rounding Crags,  were  illuminated  in  the  most  picturesque 
style,  and  with  a  very  pleasing  effect — and  an  immense 
bonfire  kindled  on  the  top  of  Arthur^s  Seat.  It  consisted  of 
about  fifty  tons  of  coal,  and  from  its  height  upwards  of  eight 
hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  it  had  a  splendid 
efiect.  Next  morning,  her  Majesty,  Prince  Albert,  and  the 
children  left  Edinburgh  for  England,  amid  the  booming  of 
the  cannon  £rom  the  Castle  and  the  acclamations  of  the  people. 

In  all  history  the  price  of  provisions  is  an  important  point 
worthy  of  record.  The  harvests  of  1848  and  1849  were 
abundant,  and  that  of  1850,  a  fair  average  one,  this  com- 
bined with  the  abolition  of  the  Com  Laws,  and  the  removal 
and  reduction  of  import  duties  on  many  important  articles 
of  consumption,  greatly  increased  the  comforts  of  the  work- 
ing classes,  by  lowering  the  price  of  every  article  of  provi- 
sions. Potatoes  formed  almost  the  only  exception,  the  price 
of  which  was  much  raised  on  account  of  the  disease  and 
blight  which  had  prevailed  for  some  years  in  that  staple 
article  of  food. 


1860.  AKKAUB.  585 

It  may  be  cnrioos  to  oompaxe  the  prices  of  a  few  of  the 
different  articles  of  common  consunpt  in  1840  and  1850. 

In  1840.  In  1850. 

#.    d*  «.     d. 


B««tFlour, 

8    0 

1 

10 

Qoartern  Wh««t  Lo«f  4Ib., 

0    9 

0 

H 

Ofttmeal, 

2    8 

1 

8 

Mutton  amd  Beef  ^  !>., 

0    7 

t) 

6 

Cheese  V  ^t 

0    8 

0 

7 

Bacon, 

0    7i 

0 

6i 

H«n, 

0  10 

0 

9 

Batter, 

1    0 

0 

9 

Sugar, 

0    TtoSH 

0 

4  to  5^. 

Treacle, 

0    4to5d. 

0 

2to2id. 

Cioffee, 

1    6  to  2s.  4d 

1.1 

0  to  Is.  8d. 

Tea, 

4    0to6s. 

3 

4  to  5s. 

Soap, 

0    6  to  6d. 

0 

4  to6d. 

9r. 

Canwtt. 

Dr.  Carson^  Rector  of  the  High  School,  died  4th 
November,  1850.  This  eminent  scholar  was  bom 
in  1787,  and  at  the  early  age  of  24  was  Bector  of  the  Gram- 
mar School  of  Damfries.  In  1811  he  was  appointed  one  of 
the  masters  of  the  High  School,  Edinburgh,  and  in  1825 
was  chosen  Eector  of  that  distinguished  academy.  He  filled 
this  situation  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  His  ^  Treatise  on 
the  Kelatiire  Qui,  Quse,  Quod,'  and  his  ^  Greek  Exercises,' 
marked  his  character  as  a  distinguished  scholar. 

The  Pope  having  proposed  to  divide  England  into  papal 
bishoprics.  Lord  John  Bussell  wrote  a  letter  on  the  subject 
which  strongly  roused  the  Protestant  feelings  of  Britain,  and 
rendered  his  Lordship  very  popular  for  the  time  being. ' 


a 


TO  THB  RIOHT  BBV.  THE  BISHOP  OF  DURHAK. 


'^  Mt  Deab  Lord,— -I  agree  with  you  in  oonaideriDg  <  the  late 
aggression  of  the  Pope  upon  our  Protestantism '  as  *  insolent  and 


586  HI8T0BT  OF  SDINBUBGH. 

inadiottSy*  aod  I  therefore  feel  as  indignaot  u  you  ean  do  opoa 
thesabjeet 

^  I  not  only  promoted  to  the  utmost  of  mj  power  the  daims  oi 
the  Boman  Cathdios  to  all  civil  rights,  bat  I  thought  it  right,  and 
even  desirable,  that  the  eoolssiastical  system  of  the  Bomau  Catho* 
lias  should  be  the  means  of  giving  instmotion  to  the  numerous 
Irish  immigrants  in  London  and  elsewhere,  who  without  such 
he^  would  have  been  left  in  heathen  ignorance. 

"  This  might  &ave  been  done^  however,  without  any  such  in- 
novation as  that  which  we  have  now  seen. 

It  is  impossible  to  confound  the  recent  measures  of  the  Pope 
with  the  division  of  Scotland  into  dioceses  by  the  Episcopal 
Church,  or  the  arrangement  of  districts  in  England  by  the  Wes- 
leyan  Conference. 

**  There  is  an  assumption  of  power  in  aQ  the  documents  whidi 
have  come  from  Borne,— «  pretension  to  supremacy  over  the  realm 
of  England,  and  a  claim  to  sole  and  undivided  sway,  which  b  in* 
consiBtent  with  the  Queen's  supremacy,  with  the  rights  of  our 
bishops  and  clergy,  and  with  the  spiritual  independence  of  the 
nation,  as  asserted  even  in  Boman  Catholic  times. 

"  I  confess,  however,  that  my  alarm  is  not  equal  to  my  indig- 
nation. 

**  Even  if  it  shall  appear  that  the  ministers  and  servants  of  the 
Pope  in  this  country  have  not  transgressed  the  law,  I  feel  per- 
suaded that  we  are  strong  enough  to  repel  any  outward  attacks. 
The  liberty  of  Protestantism  has  been  enjoyed  too  long  in  Eng- 
land to  allow  of  any  successful  attempt  to  impose  a  foreign  yoke 
upon  our  minds  and  consciences.  No  foreign  prince  or  potentate 
will  be  permitted  to  fasten  his  fetters  upon  a  nation  which  has  so 
long  and  so  nobly  vindicated  its  right  to  freedom  of  opini<»,  dvil, 
political,  and  religious. 

^  Upon  this  subject,  then,  I  will  only  say  that' the  present  state 
of  the  law  shall  be  carefully  examined,  and  the  propriety  of  adopt- 
ing any  proceedings  with  reference  to  the  recent  assumptions  of 
power  deliberately  considered. 

^  There  is  a  danger,  however,  which  alarms  me  much  more 
than  any  aggression  of  a  foreign  sovereign. 

'*  Clergymen  of  our  "own  Church,  who  have  subscribed  the 
Thirty-Nine  Articles,  and  acknowledged  in  explicit  terms  the 
Queen's  supremacy,  have  been  the  most  forward  in  leading  their 
flocks,  *  step  by  step,  to  the  very  verge  of  the  precipice.'  The 
honour  paid  to  saints,  the  claim  of  infallibility  for  the  Churdi, 


185a  ANNALS.  587 

the  supendtioos  use  of  the  sign  of  the  crois,  the  mattering  of  the 
Liturgy  so  as  to  disguise  the  lAoguage  in  which  it  is  written,  the 
recommendation  of  auricular  confession,  and  the  administration 
of  penance  and  absolution--4ll  these  things  are  pointed  out  hy 
clergymen  of  the  Ohureh  of  England  as  worthy  of  adoption,  and 
are  now  openly  reprehended  by  the  Bishop  of  London  in  his 
chai^  to  the  dergy  of  his  diocese. 

**  What,  then,  is  the  danger  to  be  apprehended  from  a  foreign 
prince  of  no  great  power,  compared  to  the  danger  within  the 
gates  from  the  unworthy  sons  of  the  Church  of  England  herself? 

**  I  have  little  hope  that  the  propounders  and  framers  of  these 
innovations  will  desist  from  their  insidious  course.  But  I  rely 
with  confidence  on  the  people  of  England,  and  I  will  not  bate  a 
jot  of  heart  or  hope  so  long  as  the  glorious  principles  and  the  im- 
mortal mart3rrs  of  the  Heformation  shall  be  held  in  reverence  by 
the  great  mass  of  a  nation  which  looks  with  contempt  on  the 
mummeries  of  superstition,  and  with  scorn  at  the  laborious  en- 
deavours which  are  now  making  to  confine  the  intellect  and  en- 
slave the  souL — ^I  remain,  with  great  respect,  &c., 

J.  BUBSELL." 
DowKDre  Sxbbst,  November  4. 

Meetings  took  place  over  the  whole  empire.  On  11th 
November,  1&50,  a  public  meeting  was  held  in  Edinburgh 
in  the  Music  Hall,  the  Lord  Provost  presiding,  to  consider 
what  course  should  be  pursued  regarding  this  aggression. 
The  following  petition  to  the  Queen  was  unanimously 
adopted:—'^  We,  your  Majesty's  loyal  subjects,  being  firmly 
attached  to  the  Protestant  faith,  and  opposed  to  the  prin- 
ciples and  practice  of  the  Church  of  Borne,  approach  your 
Migesty  with  feelings  of  devoted  loyalty  and  attachment. 
We  beg,  with  respect,  to  express  our  indignation  at  the 
recent  flagrant  and  insulting  aggression  on  the  Protestantism 
of  this  realm  on  the  part  of  the  Bishop  ef  Bome,  and  our 
humble  hope  and  confidence  that  that  aggression  will  be 
firmly  met.  and  resisted  by  your  Majesty's  goyemment,  as 
well  as  by  all  classes  of  your  Majesty's  subjects,  in  a  spirit 
worthy  of  this  free  and  Protestant  country." . 

On  4th  December,  1850,  a  still  larger  and  more  in- 


588  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUSQH. 

flaendal  meeting  was  held  in  the  Music  Hail,  of  the  Pro- 
testant inhabitants  of  Edinburgh  and  its  vicinitj  ^  opposed 
to  the  recent  Papal  aggression,  and  to  the  pablic  counte- 
nance given  to  Popery  in  its  endowment,  and  the  recog- 
nition of  Romish  titles  and  dignities,  as  well  as  to  the  progress 
of  Tractarianism  in  this  country,'* — Charles  Cowan,  Esq^ 
M.P.,  in  the  chain  The  meeting  was  enthusiastic  and  de- 
termined, in  resisting  this  Papal  aggression, — and  on  19th 
December,  1850,  the  Scottish  Anti-State  Church  Asso- 
ciation held  a  public  meeting  in  the  Music  Hall,  advocating 
the  same  views  and  deprecating  this  Papal  inroad. 

The  New  or  Free  College  at  the  head  of  the  Earthen 
Mound,  the  foundation  of  which  was  laid,  as  formerly  nar- 
rated, in  1846,  was  finished  in  1850, — the  Free  High 
Church  occupying  the  east  wing  of  the  College. 

The  total  cost  of  the  site  and  building  amounted  to  up- 
wards of  £40,000. 

The  College  was  formally  opened  6th  November,  1850. 

In  the  course  of  the  year  1850,  the  New  Town  was  ex- 
tended by  the  commencement  of  a  very  elegant  Crescent  on 
the  estate  of  Dean,  a  little  north  of  the  bridge.  Though 
limiting  the  view  firom  the  houses  in  Moray  Place,  the 
Crescent  is  highly  ornamental  to  the  north-west  quarter  of 
Edinburgh. 


BRIEF  YIEW 


THE  BISTORT  OF  THE  FIHE  ARTS  IK  EDINBURGE 


MW«M«MMnM«WWWWV«ili«MMiMMMM«AWiP 


RoBEBT  I.,  who  reigned  in  Scotland  in  the  fonrteenth  cen- 
tury, in  the  earl j  part  of  that  period  brought  a  number  of 
artists  from  Italy. 

James  I.  patronised  the  fine  arts,  and  was  himself  a  paint- 
er, and  so  early  as  his  day  Isaac  and  Peter  Oliver  painted 
miniatores  with  success,  and  also  practised  painting  on 
glass.    James  III.  was  much  attached  to  the  fine  arts. 

The  Scottish  painter,  George  Jameson,  studied  under 
Bubens,  and  was  called  the  SeattiJi  Vandyke,  He  died  in 
1644.  De  Witt  furnished  many  of  the  royal  portraits  for 
the  palace  of  Holyrood. 

After  the  Bevolution  the  elder  Scougal  was  esteemed  the 
most  eminent  Scottish  painter.  John  Baptist  Medina,  a 
native  of  Brussels,  came  from  London  to  £dinbui*gh  as  a 
historical  painter,  on  the  invitation  of  the  first  Duke  of 
Queensberry,  by  whom  he  was  knighted;  he  was  chiefly 
employed  in  portraits.  He  died  at  Edinburgh,  1711.  A 
contemporary  artist,  Paton,  painted  exquisite  miniatures. 
William  Aikman  succeeded  Sir  John  Medina  for  a  short 
time  as  an  eminent  portrait  painter  in  Edinburgh.  The  por- 
trait of  Principal  Carstairs  in  the  College  library,  is  one  of 
his  productions.  Allan  Bamsay,  the  son  of  the  poet,  also 
ranked  high  as  a  portrait  painter,  as  already  mentioned  in 
the  short  biographic  notice  of  him. 


590  HI8T0BT  OF  EDINBURGH. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  for  the  Eaicooragement  of  Arts 
and  Manufactures  in  Scotland,  was  instituted  bj  act  of  Par- 
liament in  1727,  which  authorized  George  IL  to  appoint 
trustees  for  overseeing  the  Fisheries  and  Manufactures  of 
Scotland,  and  to  apply  to  their  encouragement  the  sums 
destined  by  the  treaty  of  Union  and  some  later  statutes. 
This  Board  has  always  had  a  public  ofBce  in  Edinburgh, 
and  has  been  of  very  considerable  benefit  in  the  advance- 
ment of  the  fine  arts  in  Scotland  as  well  as  in  forwarding 
the  other  objects  for  which  it  was  originally  instituted. 
They  had  an  income  of  upwards  of  £4,000  at  their  disposal, 
a  considerable  portion  of  which  gradually  came  to  be  applied 
to  the  encouragement  of  th»  fine  arts.. 

The  two  Nories,  Smibert,  and  John  and  Ale:cander  Bun- 
dman,  were  eminent  as  painters.  Alexander  Bunciman  was 
bom  in  Edinburgh,  1736.  Afi»r  studying  in  Italy  he  was 
appointed  in  1771,  by  the  Trustees  for  the  Encouragement 
of  Arts  and  Manuftctures,  as  master  of  the  academy  they 
had  established  in  Edinburgh  for  the  study  of  drawing,  which 
is  entitled  the  School  of  Design,  and  Bunciman  executed 
many  superior  historical  pictures*  De  la  Cour  and  Pavilon 
were  the  first  masters  of  this  aoademy,  instituted  about  the 
middle  of  the  century.  Alexander  Bunciman  died  in  Edin- 
burgh, 1785. 

Jacob  More,  a  distinguished  landscape  painter,  was 
bom  in  Edinburgh  1743,  and  died  in  1796. 

On  Bunciman's  death,  David  Allan,  of  whom  there  is  a 
short  biographic  notice  in  an  earlier  part  of  this  volume,  suc- 
ceeded him  as  master  of  the  Trustees'  Drawing  Academy. 
He  again,  was  succeeded  in  1797  by  John  Graham, 
after  a  competition  by  specimen  pictures  with  several 
other  candidates  for  the  office,  and  among  his  pupils  were 
the  afterwards  celebrated  names — Sir  David  WQkie,  Sir 
William  Allan,  Alexander  Eraser,  the  two  Bumets,  Ged- 
des,  and  Patrick  Gibson.     Graham  was  succeeded  in  1818 


FINE  ABTa  591 

by  Andrew  Wilson;  and  Sir  William  Allan  and  Thomas 
Duncan  respectively  succeeded  Wilson. 

A  public  exhibition  of  paintings  by  Scottish  artists  was 
first  opened  in  Edinburgh  in  1808,  in  a  place  called  the 
Lyceum  or  Ciore's  Booms,  in  Nicolson  Street— firom  1809 
to  1818  the  exhibition  was  held  in  Baebum*s  (afterwards 
Sir  Henzy)  house,  York  Place,  producing  a  yearly  average 
of  nearly  £400  free  proceeds  to  the  artists;  but  probably 
from  a  want  of  any  legal  constitution  among  the  members, 
or  a  sufficiently  fixed  mode  of  working,  these  exhibitions, 
though  highly  popular  and  tending  to  diffuse  a  taste  for  the 
fine  arts  in  Edinburgh,  ceased  in  1813;  when  the  society  of 
artists  who  had  contributed  the  pictures  was  dissolved. 

In  1819  the  Boyal  Institution  for  the  encouragement  of 
the  Fine  Arts  in  Scotland,  had  its  origin  as  a  private  asso- 
ciation, firamed  on  the  model  of  the  British  Institution  of 
London,  and  consisted  not  of  artists  but  admirers  of  art 
unions,  and  fostered  the  public  taste  in  that  direction.  The 
first  object  was  to  have  exhibitions  of  the  pictures  of  ancient 
masters  firom  private  collections,  to  which  professional  artists 
might  have  access  for  study.  Exhibitions  of  this  description 
accordingly  took  place  in  1819  and  1820,  followed  in  1821, 
1822,  1824,  and  1825,  by  exhibitions  of  pictures  irotn  the 
studios  of  living  artists,  which  were  held  in  rooms  taken  for 
the  purpose,  at  Waterloo  Place.  It  then  became  desirable 
to  provide  a  suitable  building,  and  in  a  more  central  situation 
of  the  New  Town,  for  these  exhibitions;  and  after  a  different 
arrangement  having  failed,  it  was  agreed  that  a  handsome 
public  building  should  be  supplied  by  the  Board  of  Trustees 
for  Scottish  Arts  and  Manufactures,  which  was  accordingly 
erected  at  the  foot  of  the  Earthen  Mound,  and  is  now  known 
under  the  name  of  the  Boyal  Institution  buildings, — a  splen- 
did temple  of  art,  where  the  Boyal  Society,  and  other  public 
bodies  requiring  accommodation,  became  the  tenants  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees.  In  1824  the  Directors  of  this  Institution 
assumed  as  associates  some  professional  artists  in  Edinburgh. 


592  '        mSTOBT  DF  EDINBUBGH. 

In  February,  1826,  the  Institation  began  to  occapj  two  of 
the  galleries  in  this  boildingy  where  they  opened  another  ex- 
hibition of  modem  paintings,  and  in  October  the  same  year 
the  Directors  of  the  Institationi  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Peter 
Spalding  of  Heriot  Bow,  sacceeded  to  a  bequest  of  £10,000, 
for  the  purpose  of  creating  a  fund,  ^^  the  interest  or  annual 
proceeds  whereof  to  be  applied  for  ever  for  the  support 
of  decayed  and  superannuated  associated  artists  belonging 
to  the  Institution  for  the  Encouragement  of  the  Fine  Arts 
in  Scotland." 

In  1827  the  Institution  obtained  a  charter  of  incorpora- 
tion from  government,  and  consequently  then  became  ^^  the 
Royal  Institution  for  the  Encouragement  of  the  Fine  Arts 
in  Scotland." 

The  Boyal  Institution,  however  well  intended,  failed  to 
give  satis&ction  to  the  general  body  of  artists,  and  oonse- 
quently  the  Scottish  Academy  of  painting,  sculpture,  and 
architecture,  was  founded  27th  May,  1826,  being  an  associac 
tion  of  artists,  who,  by  their  own  exertions,  might  be  enabled 
to  promote  the  cultivation  of  the  fine  arts  in  Scotland,  and 
formed  with  some  modifications  on  the  model  of  the  Boyal 
Academy  of  London. 

The  Scottish  Academy  opened  their  first  exhibition  in 
February,  1827,  with  distinguished  success,  and  besides  the 
proceeds  of  the  exhibition,  sold  pictures  to  the  amount  of 
upwards  of  £500.  Their  second  and  third  exhibition  took 
place  in  rooms  at  Waterloo  Place;  and  before  opening  their 
fourth  annual  exhibition,  there  was  in  1829,  a  union  formed 
between  the  original  members  of  the  Scottish  Academy 
and  the  twenty-four  associates  of  the  Boyal  Institution. 
Henry  Cockbum,  Advocate,  (afterwards  Lord  Cockbum,) 
and  the  Solicitor  General,  John  Hope,  subsequently  Lord 
Justice  Clerk,  being  umpires  to  arrange  the  terms  of  union. 
In  1835,  by  an  arrangement  made  with  the  Board  of 
Manufactures    and    the    Boyal    Institution,  the   Scottish 


FINE  ARTB.  593 

Academy  opened  their  annual  exhibition  in  the  Bx)yal  In- 
stitution Buildings,  where  it  continued  for  twenty  years. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  have  also  a  large  and  extensive 
gallery  of  casts  in  the  Boyal  Institution  buildings,  where 
students  are  both  taught  and  allowed  to  copy.  Robert  Scott 
Lauder,  an  eminent  painter,  is  Director  of  the  antique  de- 
partment, assisted  by  John  Ballantyne,  who,  with  tlie  aid  of 
Wm.  Crawford,  acts  as  Professor  or  teacher  of  the  colour 
class ;  whilst  of  the  ornamental  fresco  and  architectural  sec- 
tion, Alexander  Christie  holds  the  appointment  of  Director 
and  Professor,  with  the  assistance  of  E.  W.  Dallas,  and 
is  attended  by  numerous  pupils,  who,  in  this  valuable  aca- 
demy, receive  free  instruction.  The  Royal  Institution 
buildings  cost  somewhere  about  £60,000  or  £70,000,  and 
the  New  National  Gallery  about  £50,000. 

Among  the  most  einiueut  painters  whom  the  Modem 
Athens  produced  in  the  earlier  portion  of  the  first  half  of 
the  19th  century,  may  be  named  John  Thomson  of  Dud- 
dingston.  Sir  Henry  Raebnni,  Sir  David  Wilkie,  Andrew 
Geddes,  H.  W.  Williams,  known  par  exceUeneey  as  Grecian 
WtlUamSy  William  Nicholson,  and  Sir  William  Allan. 

Among  the  most  distinguished  painters  Edinburgh  has 
called  forth  at  the  present  day,  are  David  Roberts,  whose 
name  ranks  very  high  as  a  British  artist,  from  his  beautiful 
delineations  of  the  scenery  of  Egypt  and  the  Holy  Land,  and 
his  other  gi*eat  pictures;  indeed  his  name  is  almost  unrival- 
led in  his  own  department;  Sir  John  Watson  Gordon,  Col- 
vin  Smith,  Graham  Gilbert  as  portrait  painters;  George 
Harvey,  James  Drummond,  J.  Noel  Paton,  J.  0.  Hous- 
ton, Charles  Lees,  Eckford  Lauder,  and  R.  T.  Ross  as  his- 
torical painters;  Horatio  M^Culloch,  and  D.  0.  Hill,  as 
landscape  painters. 

An  Association  for  the  Promotion  of  the  Fine  Arts  in 
Scotland,  was  commenced  at  Edinburgh  in  1834.  The  ob- 
ject was  accomplished  by  obtaining  a  large  number  of  sub- 
scribers at  one   guinea  per  annum, — ^the   Association   ap- 

2p 


594  HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBGH. 

pointing  a  Committee  of  Management,  who  purchaaed  choice 
pictures  from  the  exhibitions  of  the  Scottish  Academy, 
which  pictares  were  distribated  among  the  members  by 
dn^wing  for  prizes  at  an  annual  public  meeting.  Besides 
these,  engravings  from  some  of  the  best  of  those  prizes  were 
executed  and  distributed  among  the  whole  body  of  the  sub- 
scribers. 

So  successful  was  this  Art-Union,  that  from  the  year  of 
its  institution,  1834,  to  the  year  1847,  upwards  of  £55,000 
sterling  was  received  by  this  Association  for  the  promotion 
of  art,  and  at  the  latter  period  they  obtained  a  royal  charter 
of  incorporation,  in  which  the  lords  of  the  privy  council 
made  it  a  condition  that  a  certain  per  ceutage  of  their  annual 
subscriptions  should  be  set  aside  to  accumulate  for  the  pur- 
pose of  gradually  obtaining  a  gallery  of  modem  paintings. 

Sir  James  Erskine  of  Torrie,  Baronet,  bequeathed  his 
considerable  collection  of  pictures,  marbles,  and  bronzes  in 
1824,  to  the  College  of  Edinburgh,  uiider  trust  of  the  heir  of 
entail  of  his  estate  of  Torrie,  and  the  Lord  Provost  of  the 
city,  and  the  Sheriff  of  the  county.  This  collection  was  re- 
ceived into  the  University  of  Edinburgh  in  1836,  but  was 
removed  in  1845  for  its  better  preservation  to  the  Royal  In- 
stitution buildings,  Earthen  Mound,  in  terms  of  an  agree- 
ment between  the  Board  of  Trustees  for  Arts  and  Manu- 
factures, and  the  Trustees  of  the  Torrie  collection,  where  it 
has  been  exhibited  gratuitously  to  the  public  along  with  some 
other  celebrated  pictures. 

This  collection  is  to  be  transferred  to  the  adjoining  bmld- 
ing,  the  New  National  Gallery  of  Art. 

The  art  of  engraving,  previous  to  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  was  principally  practised  by  foreigners, 
and  did  not  extend  much  beyond  portraits  and  book  cuts. 
Sir  Bobert  Strange  was  the  first  native  artist  eminent  as  a 
historical  engraver.  He  was  born  in  Orkney  1721,  and  re- 
ceived his  first  lessons  firom  Richard  Cooper  of  Edinburgh. 
His  engravings  are  about  fifly  in  number,  and  were  chiefly 


TIKE  ARTS.  595 

from  pictares  by  Baphael,  Correggioy  and  other  eminent 
painters  of  the  Italian  school.  Andrew  Bell,  the  original 
projector  of  the  Encyclopssdia  Britannica,  was  an  engraver 
of  some  repute  in  his  day,  bat  of  no  great  eminence. 

Engraving  on  wood^  which  was  the  most  ancient  mode  of 
the  arty  is  now  mach  improved.  Lisars  of  Edinbnrgfa  dis- 
played considerable  skill  in  this  department,  and  Bewick  of 
Newcastle's  wood  engravings  of  birds  and  qnadrapeds  were 
admirable. 

Lithography,  or  drawing  and  engraving  on  stone,  is  a 
modem  invention,  and  now  presents  most  beautiful  speci- 
mens of  art. 

Photography,  which  has  been  known  under  the  various 
names  of  Daguerrotype  and  Calotype,  is  the  art  of  almost 
instantaneously  taking  transcripts  from  nature,  and  portraits 
of  living  individuals  or  groups,  by  the  action  of  the  rays  of 
the  sun.  The  brush  or  the  pencil  of  a  painter  may  err,  but 
pictures  produced  by  this  wonderful  modem  invention  must 
be  correct  to  the  naked  eye,  though  it  is  known,  optically 
speaking,  that  they  are  subject  to  certain  inaccuracies,  and 
it  seems  an  art  susceptible  of  daily  improvement. 

It  has  been  remarked  that  architecture  for  long  could 
scarcely  be  considered  an  art  or  science  in  Scotland,  but 
when  one  surveys  the  splendid  ruins  of  the  abbeys  of  Roslin, 
Dunfermline,  Melrose,  Jedbiirgh,  Kelso,  Elgin,  Kirkwall, 
Glasgow  and  Holyrood,  the  tmth  of  the  observation  becomes 
more  than  doubtftd.  The  palace  of  Holyrood  was  designed 
by  Sir  William  Bruce,  about  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
centuf}*.  The  Gothic  of  King  James  was  the  prevailing 
style  in  Edinburgh,  as  exhibited  in  the  Old  Parliament 
House  and  Inigo  Jones'  beautiful  design  of  Heriof  s  Hos- 
pital. 

The  family  of  the  Milnes  were  distinguished  in  the  Scot- 
tish metropolis  as  builders  and  architects;  one  of  them  built 
Holjnroodhouse  from  the  designs  of  Sir  William  Bruce. 

Kobert  Adam,  of  whom  a  biographic  notice  hps  already 


596  HISTORY  OP  EDINBURGH. 

been  given,  ranked  high  as  an  architect,  and  prepared  the 
original  design  of  the  Register  House  and  the  New  Edin- 
bui^h  University. 

James  Gillespie,  afterwards  Gillespie  Graham  of  Orchill, 
was  an  architect  of  considerable  name.  He  designed  nu- 
merous churches.  The  spire  of  the  Victoria  Hall,  Castle 
Hill,  with  its  accessaries,  certainly  testify  to  his  architect- 
ural skill. 

Robert  Reid,  a  native  architect,  designed  the  modem 
front  of  the  Parliament  House,  St.  George's  church,  the 
Custom  House  at  Leith,  and  several  other  public  buildings. 

Richard  Crichton  was  also  an  Edinburgh  architect  of 
some  celebrity. 

William  Stark  was  eminent  as  an  architect  in  IMinburgh, 
and  designed  the  beautiful  interior  of  the  Libraries  of  the 
Writers  to  the  Signet  and  the  Advocates,  which  remind  the 
spectator  somewhat  of  the  Louvre  at  Paris.  Stark  died  in 
1813. 

Archibald  Elliot  was  architect  of  the  County  Hall — ^the 
beautiful  portico  of  which  was  taken  from  the  Erycthseum 
at  Athens — of  the  Regent  bridge— -and  the  New  prisons  at 
the  Calton.  Thomas  Hamilton,  whose  name  ranks  high  in 
the  profession,  was  the  original  architect  for  the  new  im- 
provements of  Edinburgh,  which  were  carried  on  in  an  en- 
tirely different  manner  from  the  plans  he  proposed,  and  of 
the  splendid  building  on  the  Calton  Hill  for  the  new  High 
School,  and  the  new  Physician's  Hall,  Queen  Street. — Wil- 
liam Playfair  has  had  the  Earthen  Mound,  with  its  temples 
of  art,  and  the  Free  College  under  his  peculiar  charge;  and 
Kemp,  a  self-taught  genius,  who  studied  Gothic  architecture 
from  the  beautiful  fanes  of  early  architecture  at  Melrose  and 
other  ancient  Scottish  as  well  a9  continental  Abbeys,  produced 
the  superb  structure  reared  in  Prince's  Street  to  the  memory 
of  the  Scottish  Shakspeare. 

The  beautiful  art  of  sculpture  was  not  much  jencouraged  in 
Edinbui*gh  in  early  days.   The  fine  statue  of  Duncan  Forbes 


FINE  ABTS.  69  7 

in  the  Parliament  House,  was  from  the  chisel  of  Roabilliac, 
a  distingaisbed  foreign  scolptor.  In  our  own  day,  Lawrence 
M^onald,  a  young  artist  of  distinguished  poetical  talent, 
breathed  something  like  life  and  beauty  into  marble,  and  was 
successful  both  as  a  aculptor  of  human  beings  and  quad- 
rupeds. He  has  had  his  studio  in  the  ^^  eternal  city  "  nearly 
a  quarter  of  a  centuiy.  John  Steell,  sculptor  to  the  Queen 
for  Scotland,  has  given  still  life  to  many  a  familiar  form  in 
his  statues  and  busts,  such  as  Queen  Victoria,  Wellington 
and  Chalmers.  Calder  Marshall  is  a  native  of  the  Scottish 
metropolis,  though  now  exercising  his  profession  as  a  distin- 
guished sculptor  in  London.  Alexander  Handyside  Bitchie 
and  William  Brodie  also  excel  in  this  department  of  art. 

William  Bum,  David  Bryce,  and  David  Rhind,  have 
contributed  considerably  to  the  public  architecture  of  Edin- 
burgh. 

George  Watson,  a  distinguished  portrait  painter,  was  the 
first  President  of  the  Scottish  Academy  of  Painting,  Sculp- 
ture and  Architecture.  On  his  death  in  1837,  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  William  Allan,  who  was  knighted  in  1842.  John 
Watson  Gordon  succeeded  as  President  of  the  Scottish 
Academy  in  1850,  on  the  demise  of  Sir  William  Allan, 
and  had  the  honour  of  knighthood  conferred  on  him  soon 
after  on  account  of  his  eminence  as  a  painter,  and  as  a  com- 
pliment to  the  fine  arts  in  Scotland.  A  public  dinner  was 
given  to  Sir  John  Watson  Gordon  in  Edinburgh,  on  13th 
December,  1850, — ^Professor  Wilson  in  the  chair,  when  about 
two  hundred  gentlemen  were  present. 


TABLE  OF  DATES 


OF 


EDINBURGH  AND  ITS  STREETS.  PDBUC  BUILDINGS,  kc 


<»MMA«W«MMM«MM«AMMMnMMMMMMMA 


Edinlrargli  founded  hy  Edwin,-- «boat  626 

8t  Cathbert*!  Gbnroh,         ......  690 

Abbey  of  Holyrood  founded  by  Devid  I.,          .           .           .  1 128 

Monaeteiy  of  BUokfrien  founded  by  Alexander  II.,                       •  1260 

Harbour  of  LeHb  granted  to  Edinbargb^  1829 
Old  Weigh  Hoom  erected  hy  Darid  II.  bead  of  Weat  Bow,  with  a 

•pire  and  clock,          ......  1852 

St.  Gilea*a  Oathedxal  Gbweh,            .....  1859 

David  II.  died  in  the  Oaatle,       .....  1871 

Old  Wi7te*s  House  Manaion,          .....  1876 

Fint  aty  Wall  built, 1460 

James  IL  buried  at  Holyrood,         .....  1460 

Black  Tompike  Qoae,    ......  1461 

Trinity  College  Cbuich  bnilt  by  Mary  of  Qneldres,     .  1462 
Mary  of  Qveldres,  Qaeen  of  James  IL,  buried  in  Trinity  College 

Church, 1468 

8l  Qiles*  Church  collegiated,           .....  1466 

Market  for  Linen  and  Woollen  Cloth  appointed  to  be  held  between 

liberton's  Wynd  and  the  Tolbooth,       ....  1477 

Hospital  of  our  Lady,  at  foot  of  Ldth  Wynd,  1479 
Cowgate  bnilt,  and  first  called  Soath  Street,  then  Well-gate  from  the 

town's  wells  being  there,           .....  1485 

Bridge  to  connect  North  and  South  Leith  built,  1498 
ProTost  of  St  Giles  added  his  Manse  to  the  ancient  Cemetery  of  Ed- 
inburgh, situated  where  the  Parliament  Square  now  is,  1496 
Convent  and  Hospital  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  St.  Mary's  Wynd,  1499 
St  Mary's  Chap^  Niddry's  Wynd,         ....  1504 

Superiority  of  Newbaven  granted  hy  James  lY.  to  Edinburgh,  1511 

Second,  or  Flodden  Field  Qty  Wall  built,  1518 
Burgh  Muir  abounded  with  large  oak  trees    James  lY.  reviewed  his 

army  there  before  marching  to  Flodden,  1513 

James  lY.  buried  at  Holyrood,              ....  1518 

Town  Quard  instituted,  consisting  of  24  men,  1513 

West  Port  Qate  erected,             .....  1514 

Bristo  Port  built,  anciently  called  Gallowgate,  1515 

Cowgate  Port  erected,     ......  1516 

Convent  of  St  Catherine  of  Sienna,  Sciennes,                    .           .  15 1 7 


600  HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 

Chapel  of  St  John  the  Baptitt,  near  the  Sciennes,                    .  1517 

Chnrch  and  Monastery  of  Carmelite  friars  and  Hospital  of  Greenside,  1520 
Houses  west  side  of  Leith  Wynd  taken  down,  and  a  part  of  cicj  wall 

boUt  there,          .......  1520 

Holyrood   Palace,  north-west  part  erected  with  three  towers  bj 

James  v.,      .......  1528 

Black  Friars  Monastery  bomt,        .....  1528 

Chaplsinry  of  Holyrood  at  the  back  Parliament  stairs,  stood  1528 

St  Roqoe's  Chapel,  Canaan,       .....  1530 

James  V.  buried  at  Holjnrood,  1542 

Great  part  of  Edinburgh  burnt  by  the  English,  1544 

Magdalen  Chapel,  Cowgate,            .....  1547 

Queen  Mary  leares  Edinburgh  for  France,  1548 
Mary  of  Guise,  Queen  Dowager  of  Scotland,  builds  a  residence,  Blyth's 

Close,  north  side  of  Csstlehill,    .....  1550 

Leith  erected  into  a  barony  by  Mary  of  Guise,  1555 

Krames  or  Luckenbooths  built,        .....  1555 

Market  for  Linen  and  Woollen  doth  appointed  to  be  held  between 

Blackfriars  Wynd  and  Netherbow,  1555 

Ordered  back  again  to  Land  or  Landmarket,          •  1557 

Edinburgh  Castle,  Palace  and  Square,  1556 

Holyrood  Chapel  back  stairs  demolished,                            .  1559 

Monastery  of  Greyfriars  demolished,      ....  1559 

Com  Market  remoTed  from  Marlin's  Wynd  to  the  Grassmarket,  1560 

Halkerston's  Wynd  Gktte  erected,                ....  1560 

College  Chnrch  Gate  erected,      ......  1560 

Mary  of  Guise,  Queen  Dowager  of  Scotland,  died  in  the  Castle,  1560 

Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  returns  from  France  to  Edinburgh,  1561 
Old  Tolbooth  rebuilt,  and  called    High  Council    House  or   New 

Tolbooth,       .......  1562 

Queen  Mary  married  to  Daxnley  at  Holyrood,  1565 
Superiority  of  Leith  given  to  Edinburgh  in  security  for  money  bor- 
rowed by  Queen  Mary,               .....  1566 

Rizzio  murdered  at  Holyrood,                ....  1566 

James  VI.  bom  in  Edinburgh  Castle,         ....  1566 

Trinity  College  Hospital,  foot  of  Leith  Wynd,  bestowed  by  the 
Regent  Murray  on  Sir  Simon  Preston,  ProTost,  and  given  by  him 

to  the  city  for  the  poor,              .....  1567 

First  Netherbow  port  erected,  1571 

Royal  Mint,  Gray's  Goee,  Cowgate,           ....  1574 

First  High  School  founded,        .....  1578 

James  VI.  enters  the  city  by  the  West  Port,  1579 

Unirersity  founded  by  James  VI.,         ....  1581 

Earl  of  Morton,  regent,  beheaded,               ....  1581 

Warriston's  Qose,           ......  1588 

Clock  erected  on  St  Giles'  Spire,     .....  1585 

Lower  Cemetery  at  the  Cowgate  conrerted  into  a  Meal  Market,  1587 

James  VI.  and  his  Queen,  Anne  of  Denmark,  landed  at  Leith,  1590 

Canongate  Jail  built,       ......  1591 

High  School  Riot,  Bailie  M'Moi-an  shot,       ....  1595 

Year  of  dearth,  called  the  Black  Year,                                     .  1595 


TABLE  OF  DATES. 


601 


Piinoen  Elixabeth,  daagbter  of  Junes  VI.,  afterward*  Qaeen  of  Bo- 
hemia, from  whom  is  desoended  the.  House  of  Hanover,  baptiaed 
atHoljTood,        .......        1696 

Steeple  of  8t  Giles'  ceased  to  be  the  common  Prison,  1599 

Second  Netherbow  Fort  erected,  a  little  east  of  the  former,  1606 

Henry  Anderson  obtained  patents  to  ran  coaches  between  Edinburgh 

andLeith, 1610 

Old  Greyfnars  Church  founded,       .....        1612 

The  Cross,  High  Street,  repaired  and  reboilt,  1617 

St  Thomas's  Chapel  and  Alms-house,  Canongate,  sold  by  the  Chap- 
lains and  Beadsmen  to  Magistrates  of  Canongate,  1617 
Moray  House,  Canongate,  built,            ....             1618 

Hospital  of  Our  Lady,  foot  of  Leith  Wynd,  oonrerted  into  a  Work- 
house for  the  poor,  ......        1619 

Cardinal  Beaton's  House,  Blaokfnar>s  Wynd,  built,   - .  1619 

Trained  Bands  of  the  citiseus  to  learn  military  exercises  in  case  of 

war— commenced— 8  companies  200  each,  1626 

Superiority  of  Barony  of  Broughton  purchased  by  Edinburgh^  1626 

Heriot's  Hospital  commenced,  ....  1628 

Parliament  House  building,  commenced,  1682 

Edinburgh  made  an  Episcopal  see,  by  Qiarles  I.,  1638 

St  Thomas's  Chapel  sold  to  be  the  Canongate  Poor's  House,  1684 

First  regular  Post  established  between  Edinburgh  and  London,  1685 

Superiority  of  Canongate,  Broughton,  and  North  Leith,  purchased  by 
Edinburgh,  ......  1686 

Solemn  League  and  Covenant  signed  at  Greyfiiars  Church-yard,  1688 

Tron  Church,  then  called  Christ's  Church,  founded,  1687 

Parliament  House  building,  finished,     .  .  1640 

Edinburgh  divided  into  six  parishes,  ....        1641 

tiolemn  League  and  Covenant  swom  to  in  St.  Giles',  1643 

Tron  Church  opened,  ......        1647 

Superiority  of  Portsburgh  purchased  by  Edinburgh,     .  1648 

Impeiial  Crown  of  St.  Giles'  Spire  repaired,  .  1648 

Oliver  Cromwell  arrives  in  Edinburgh,  .  1650 

Marquis  of  Montrose  executed  in  Edinburgh,  1651 

Lady  Tester's  Chnrcli  founded,  ....  1655 

Boi-ough  Loch  with  its  Marshes,  let  to  John  Straiton,  1658 

Heriot's  Hospital,  completed,     .....  1659 

Marquis  of  Argyle  executed  in  Edinburgh,  .1 661 

King's  Subles,  back  of  Castle,  purchased  by  the  Qty,  1661 

Number  of  Hackney  Coaches  in  the  city— Twenty,     ■  1673 

Holyrood  Pahice,  diaries  II.,  ....  1674 

Holyrood  repaired  for  the  Duke  of  York,  afterwards  James  II.,  and 
his  Duchess  Anne  of  Modena,  ....        1679 

Port  at  foot  of  Halkerston's  Wynd  erected,  1680 

Merchant  Company  incorporated,  ....        1681 

Water  brought  to  Edinburgh  from  Comiston  by  pipes,  1681 

Boy al  College  of  Physicians  incorporated,  .  .  1681 

Advocates'  Library  founded,       .     ^      .  .  1682 

Statue  of  Charles  II.  erected  in  Parliament  Square,  .        1685 

Old  Exchange,  Parliament  Square,        ....  1685 


602 


HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBOH. 


years, 

Linen 
Office, 


Jemae  11.  proelaimed  King  at  Edinburgh, 

Cawmgate  Church  boilt,  .... 

Wniiam  and  Mary  prodaimed  at  Edinburgh, 

Ifill'i  Court,  Lawnmaifcet,  boilt, 

Bank  of  Scotland,  Qoiford'a  Close,  Lawnmaiket, 

Old  Merchant  Maiden  Hospital,  Bristo  Street, 

Haddo'B  Hole  Church,         ..... 

Qreat  Fire  in  Edinborgh, 

Port  at  foot  of  Halkerston's  Wynd  closed  up, 

Trades' Maiden  Hospital,  .... 

Begalia  deposited  in  the  Castle,       .... 

Society  for  Propagating  Christian  Knowledge, 

Spire  of  Old  Greyftiars  Chuch,  need  as  a  powder  magasins;  bamt, 

First  West  Dock,  Leith,  formed, 

Assembly  Booms,  Old  Assembly  Close, 

New  OreylHars  Church,  .... 

Baron  Smith's  Episcopal  Chapel,  Bladcfiriars  Wynd, 

Borough  Loch,  now  the  Meadows,  let  to  Thomas  Hope  for  57 

hence  called  Hope'Park,       .... 
Board  of  Scottish  Trustees  for  Encouraging  mannfaotnre  of 

and  Woollen  cloth,  formed,  and  opened  the  British  Linen 

Parliament  Gose, 
Royal  Bank,  Royal  Bank  aose,  near  the  Cross, 
James's  Court, 

Boaid  of  Trustees  instituted,      .... 
St  Cecilia's  Hall,  Niddry's  Wynd, 
Royal  Bank  began  to  issue  Notes, 

Old  Orphan  Hospital  founded,  Dingwall  Park,  Phyrie  Qardens, 
Theatre,  Carrubber's  Close,  built  by  Allan  Ramsay, 
Porteous  Mob,  •  .  •  .  • 

Royal  Inibmary  building  founded, 
George  Watson's  Hospital  founded, 
George  Watson's  Hospital  opened. 
Charity  Work  House  built,        .... 
British  Linen  Company,       ..... 
Theatre,  Canongate,  built,  .... 

Cambber's  Gose  Chapel,  built,       .... 
Statue  of  President  Duncan  Forbes,  Parliament  House,  erected. 
Royal  Exchange  founded,  .... 

Assembly  Rooms,  Bell's  Wynd,       .... 
Cross,  High  Street,  pulled  down. 
Old  Buodeuch  Chapel,  Cross  Causeway,     . 
Roof  of  Holyrood  Chapel  repaired,         .  . 

Canongate  Charity  Work  House, 
St  Cecilia's  Hall,  Niddry  Street, 
Netherbow  Port  remoTed, 
SpeculatiTe  Sociejfcy  instituted, 
British  Linen  Hall  opened  by  the  Board  of  Trustees, 
George  Square,  ..... 

Rose  Court,  Thistle  Street,  .... 

North  Bridge  founded,  .  .  •  • 


1686 
16M 
1689 
1680 
1695 
1696 
1696 
1700 
1700 
1704 
1707 
1709 
1718 
1720 
1720 
1721 
1722 

1722 


1727 
1727 
1727 
1727 
1728 
1732 
1734 
1785 
1736 
1738 
1738 
1741 
1748 
1746 
1746 
1746 
1762 
1768 
1756 
1756 
1757 
1758 
1761 
1762 
1764 
1764 
1766 
1766 
1766 
1766 


TABLE  OF  DATES. 


603 


Botuuc  Gkuraeni,  Leith  Walk,  foimed,        ....  1767 

New  Town  oommenoed,  .....  1767 

GmUc  Chapel,  OMtU  Wjnd,  1767 

BoofofHolTroodCbApelfellin,  ....  1768 

St  John  Street,  Gammgate,  .....  1768 

Theatre  So^al,  Shakipeare  Square,        ,  .  .  ,  1769 

8t  Bernard*!  limaral  Well,  1769 

North  Bridge,  part  of  it  iell,  1769 

Cowgate  Epiioopal  CbApel  fbonded,  ....  1771 

Royal  Pfayaleal  Society  iaftitated,         ....  1771 

North  Bridge  re-opened,  .....  1772 

Lady  Gleoorohy^a  Cbapel,  Phyaic  Qaidena,  1774 

Begiater  Hotiae  founded,  .....  1774 

Leitfa  Walk  formed, 1774 

Jamea'a  Square  oommenoed,      .....  1775 

Pfayiidan*f  Hall,  George  Street,      .....  1775 

Sl  Cathbert*B  Cfanroh  rebuilt,  .1775 

Old  Obaerratory,  Oalton  Hill,  ....  1776 

Archer*8  Hall,  .......  1776 

IHapensaiy,  Biohmond  Street,  ....  1776 

High  School,  foot  of  Infirmary  Street,        ....  1777 

Royal  College  of  Sorgeona,         .....  1778 

St.  Jamea'i  Square,  .1779 

Royal  Antiquarian  Society  inatitnted,    ....  1780 

St  Andrew*!  Church  foanded,         .....  1781 

Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh,      .....  1788 

Earthen  lloond,       .......  1733 

Highland  Society  of  Scotland  faistitated,  1784 

Riot  of  the  Popoiace  who  attacked  Haig^s  Dittilleiy,  Canonmilla,  1784 

Eaatem  di^iaion  of  George  Street,         ....  1784 

Sonth  Bridge  founded,  ......  1785 

Town  Guard  Houae,  near  the  Croia,  pulled  down,  1785 

Chamber  of  Commerce  eataUiahed,  ....  1786 

Aiaembly  Rooms,  George  Street,  ....  1787 

South  Bridge  opened,  ......  1788 

New  Edinburgh  UniTenity,  1789 

Spire  of  St  Andrew*!  Church  erected,         ....  1789 

Spire  of  St  Cuthbert*!  Church  erected,  1789 

Frederick  Street,  ......  1790  ' 

Amphitheatre  Head  of  Leith  Walk  opened;  afterward!  Corri*!  Boom!, 

Pantheon,  and  Adelphi  Theatre,  ....  1790 

Bridewell,  Oalton  Hill,  founded,  ....  1791 

Caatle  Street,  New  Town,  .....  1792 

St  George*!  Episcopal  Chapel,  Tork  Place,  1792 

Penny  Post  OiBoe  eataUiahed,         .....  1795 

Boyal  Edinburgh  Volunteen  caiaed,  I794 

Edinburgh  Sobaeription  Library,  ....  1794 

YoA  Place, 1795 

New  Barrack!,  Edinburgh  Caatle,  .1796 

Pierahill  Barracka,  Jock*!  Lodge,  .1796 

Magdalen  Aaylum,  Canongate,        .....  1797 


604 


HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 


Bank  Street,  oommimicatioii  from  High  Street  to  the  Earthen  Moond, 
Bank  of  Sootland,  Head  of  Mound,  .... 

Eastern  Wet  Docka,  Leith,  commenced, 


in  parks,  now  hegan  to  be 


Wryte's  House  Mansion  remoTed  to  make  room  for  QiUesple' 

pital,  .... 

Charlotte  Sqoare, 
OiUespie's  Hospital, 
Lady  Tester's  New  Church, 
Blind  Asylum,  Nicolson  Street, 
Picardy  Place, 

Eastern  Wet  Docks,  Leith,  finished. 
The  Sabnrb  of  Newington,  before  laid  oat 

bout  with  streets  and  yiUas, 
Nelson's  Monument, 
New  front  on  Parliament  House,     . 
Wemerian  Society, 
Horticnltnrai  Society, 
Middle  Wet  Docks,  Leith  commenced. 
Lunatic  Asylum,  Momingside, 
Deaf  and  Dumb  Asylum,  Gheuel's  Court, 
Commercial  Bank,  Picardy  Place, 
Astronomical  Institution, 
Custom  House,  Leith, 
Rankeillor  Street,  begun 
Roman  Catholic  Chapel,  Broughton  Street, 
National  Security  Savings'  Bank, 
Commercial  Bank,  High  Street, 
Methodist  Church,  Nicolson  Square, 
St  George's  Church,  CSiarlotte  Square, 
North  Leith  Church, 
Regent  Bridge  founded,  «    . 

Nelson's  Monument  finished. 
Walk  round  SaUsbury  Crags  formed, 
Adrocates'  Library,  New  building. 
New  Merchant  Maiden  Hospital,  Lauiiston 
Albany  Street  begun  1800,  finished 
Walks  round  Galton  Hill  formed, 
Old  Prison,  Heart  of  Mid-Lothian,  pulled  down, 
Anne  Street,  at  West  side  of  North  Bridge, 
New  Prison,  Calton  Hill,  completed, .    . 
County  Hall, 

London  Street,  begun  1808,  finished 
Scottish  Regalia,  opened  at  the  Castle, 
New  Buildings,  NorUi  Bridge, 
St  Paul's  Episcopal  Chapel,  York  Place, 
St  John's  Episcopal  Chapel,  Prince's  Steeet, 
Edinburgh  and  Glasgow  Canal  commenced. 
New  Obserratory,  Calton  Hill, 
Western  Prince's  Street  Gardens, 
Statue  of  Henry,  first  Ylscount  Melrille,  by  Chantiy,  erected 

Parliament  House,     . 


pulled  down, 


Hoe- 


in  outer 


1796 
1800 
1800 

1800 
1800 
1801 
1808 
1806 
1806 
1806 

1806 
1807 
1808 
1808 
1809 
1810 
1810 
1810 
1810 
1812 
1818 
1812 
1813 
1818 
1814 
1814 
1814 
1814 
1815 
1815 
1815 
1815 
1815 
1815 
1816 
1817 
1817 
1817 
1817 
1818 
1818 
1818 
1818 
1818 
1818 
1818 
1818 

1818 


TABLE  OF  DATES. 


605 


aerk  Street,        .... 

Howe  Street,  begun  1807,  finished 

Regent  Bridge  opened,    . 

Fint  RoTtl  Inttitation  Exhibition  opened, 

Phrenologioal  Society,     . 

Qreftt  King  Street, 

Fettee  Row,         .... 

Heriot  Row  begun  1808,  finiihed 

Montagae  Street, 

Melville  Monument,  St  Andxew  Sqnue,     . 

Royal  Terrace, 

New  Academy,  Hendenon  Bow,  foonded, 

School  of  Arte  established, 

Gloucester  Place,      .... 

India  Street,        .... 

Baron  Smith's  Episcopal  Chapel  palled  down, 

Qaeen  Street  GNtfdens  formed, 

National  Monument,  Calton  Hill, 

Old  Weigh  House,  Lawnmarket  removed. 

New  Academy,  Henderson  Bow, 

Moray  Place, 

Mansfield  Place, 

St  Bernard's  Church,  Stockbridge, 

Newington  Chapel  or  Qiurch, 

Horticultural  Society's  Gardens,  Inverleith  Row, 

St  Mary's  Church,  Beilevue  Crescent, 

Tron  Church  Spire  burnt, 

Oil  Gas  Company  Buildings,  Tanfield, 

Royal  Botanic  Gardens,  Inverleith, 

Scottish  Military  and  Naval  Academy,  Lothian  Road, 

Royal  Institution  Buildings, 

New  High  School,  Calton  Hill,  founded, 

Henderson  Row,       .... 

National  Bank,  St  Andrew  Square, 

St.  Bernard's  Crescent, 

Regent  Terrace, 

Royal  Bank,  St.  Andrew  Square, 

Annandale  Street, 

Haddington  Place, 

Hope  Crescent, 

John  Watson's  Hospital,  Dean, 

New  Leith  Pier  commenced, 

Circus  Place  Academy,  New  Town, 

Edinburgh  and  Dalkeith  Railway, 

Scottish  Academy  of  Painting,  Sculpture,  and  Architecture, 

George  IT.'s  Bridge, 

St  Stephen's  Church, 

St.  Giles's  Cathedral  renovated, 

Dugald  Stewart's  Monument,  Calton  Hill, 

College  of  Surgeons'  Museum, 

George  IT.'s  Statue,  G^rge  Street, 


1818 
1819 
1819 
1819 
1820 
1820 
1820 
1820 
1820 
1821 
1821 
1822 
1822 
1822 
1822 
1822 
1822 
1822 
1822 
1822 
1822 
1828 
182.S 
1828 
1824 
1824 
1824 
1824 
1824 
1825 
1825 
1825 
1825 
1825 
1825 
1825 
1825 
1825 
1825 
1826 
1826 
1826 
1826 
1826 
1826 
1827 
1828 
1829 
1830 

1830 
1831 


606 


HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBQH. 


Hooie  of  Rdftige,  Qoeensbtrry  Hooie,  Canongate,  1832 

Pitt  Stetne,  Ctoorge  Street, 1883 

Dean  Bridge,  Water  of  Leith,          .....  1833 

New  Orphan  Hoepttal,  Deaa,     .....  1838 

Eqnettiiaa  Statae  of  the  Earl  of  Hopetoan,  St  Andrew  Square,  1834 

Lelth  Walk  Toll  remoTed, 1884 

Weet  Bow,  great  p«rt  of  it  removed,           ....  1836 

Stetae  of  Frederick,  Duke  of  Tori:,  Esplanade,  Caetie  Hill,  1836 

DeanChnroh,      .......  1836 

SiUc  MiUa,  Foontainbridge, 1836 

New  anb,  Prinoea  Street,                                .           .  1837 

Oreenside  Chorch,               ......  1838 

St  John'8  Chnroh,  Yiotoria  Street,  1838 

Trinity  Epiaoopal  Chapel,  Dean  Bridge,  1839 

Night  Asylnm,  Old  Fishmarket  Qoee,  1840 

Zoological  Gardens,                                     .           .  1840 

General  Assembly  or  Victoria  Hall,  Castle  HIU,  1848 

Donaldson's  Hospital,  fonnded,        .....  184S 

Edinburgh  and  Glasgow  Bank,              ....  I8tf 

Mnsio  Hall,  George  Street,               .....  1843 

Free  Chorches,  ......  1843-5 

Statue  of  Qneen  Victoria,  Bnyal  Institution,  1844 

Physicians'  Hall,  George  Street,  pulled  down,  1844 

Lady  Glenorchy's  Chapel,  Physic  Gardens,  pulled  down,  1846 

Normal  School  or  Institntton,  Castle  Terrace,  1846 

Old  Greyfriars  Church  burnt          .....  1846 

Trinity  Hospital  pulled  down,    .....  1846 

North  British  Bailway  opened,               ....  1846 

Territorial  Church,  West  Port                    ....  1846 

Physicians'  Hall,  Queen  Street             ....  1846 

New  or  Free  College,  head  of  Earthen  Mound,  founded,  1846 

Excise  Office,  Beilerue  House,  Drummond  Pkce ;  puUed  down,  1846 

Statue  of  Sb  Walter  Scott  placed  in  his  Monument,  Prince's  Street,  1846 

Original  Ragged  or  Industrial  School,  1847 

Commercial  Bank,  George  Street,          ....  1847 

United  Industrial  School     ......  1847 

Trinity  College  Church  pulled  down,                .           .  1848 

Caledonian  Bailway  opened,            .....  1848 

Mary  of  Gneldres,  Queen  of  James  IL,  disinterred,  on  Trinity  College 

Church  being  pulled  down,  and  re>intened  at  Holyrood,  15th  July,  1848 

Western  Bank,  St  Andrew  Square,             ....  1848 

New  Police  Office,  High  Street             ....  1849 

Stewart's  Hospital,  Dean,  founded,  1849 

New  Com  Market,  Grassmarket                 ....  1849 

Queen  Street  Hall,  1849 

New  or  Free  College,  Earthen  Mound  opened,  1850 

Clarendon  Crescent        ......  i860 

British  Linen  Co.  Bank,  St  Andrew  Square — new  front  1850 
Statue  of  Queen  Victoria,  by  Handyside  Ritchie,  erected  at  Holyrood,  1851 
Colossal  Equestrian  Statue  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  by  J<^ 

Steell,  erected  in  front  of  the  Register  House,               .  1852 


POPUUTIOK  OF  EDIKBUBGfl. 


■X^^OWWWWWWWMMMWOMW 


Tbx  nearett  approaok  to  anything  like  a  table  of  the  population  of  Edin- 
boxf  h  before  the  preeent  oentniy,  eeems  to  have  been  a  paper  in  poaaeetion 
of  the  letiion-oleik,  entitled  **  A  liit  of  the  haill  poaeeeaon  of  hooaea  in  the 
diflferent  pariabea,"  dated  1678,  nuikin;  in  aU  8,883  honaei  in  the  aiz 
pariahes  into  irhid)  the  city  was  then  divided ;  nioltipl3ring  that  by  five, 
gave  a  popnlation  of  nearij  17,000,  or  by  aiz,  of  20,000,  whieh  was  probably 
beyond  the  mark.  Again,  in  1722,  an  enomendon  cMf  the  families  in  the 
nine  parishes  into  which  the  dty  was  then  portioned,  appears  to  have  been 
prepared,  making  neariy  6,000  families,  and  25,000  individuals ;  and,  allowing 
7,000  for  the  adjoining*  population  of  St.  Cathbert's,  and  adding  15,000  for 
the  suburbs  and  other  environs,  gave  a  total  population  of  about  40,000. 
In  1755  Dr.  Webster  e^tempted  an  enumeration,  which  resulted  in  81,000 
population  to  the  city  proper,  4,500  to  the  Canongate,  12,000  to  Bt.  Cuth- 
bert's,  or  Weat  Cbufch  paiish,  and  9,000  to  Leith ;  in  all,  57,000. 

In  1775,  a  survey  of  the  number  of  houses  in  Edinburgh,  Leitb,  and 
environs,  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  road  money,  was  taken,  making  in 
all  18,806  dwelling-bouses,  from  which  Amot  inferred  a  popnlation  of 
80,000;  but  that  was  reckoning  six  to  a  family;  whereas,  calculating  ^rt, 
which  seems  more  correct,  gives  a  result  of  70,000. 

Then,  again,'  in  1791.  when  Sir  John  Sinclair  was  preparing  the  Statis- 
tical Account  of  Scotland,  an  enumeration  of  the  inhabitants  of  many  of  the 
parishes  of  Edinburgh  and  the  suburbs  was  made,  from  which  was  deduced 
a  population  of  about  84,000 ;  but  this  was  most  probably  taken  on  too  high 
a  ratio. 

From  the  commencement  of  the  nineteenth  century,  a  regular  decennial 
census  of  the  popnlation  has  been  taken.  The  population-tables  presented 
to  parliament  shows  the  following  results  for  the  city  of  Edinburgh, 
including  the  environs  and  Leith :— 


1801, 

82,560 

1811, 

102,987 

1821, 

188,285 

1831, 

.   -  161,909 

1841, 

166,450 

1851, 

193,929 

A  LIST 


or 


THE  LORD  PBOYOSTS  OF  EDISBOBGE 


^0^0tm0>t0^m0i^0^^^0^0^^0t0i0^^^^^^m0t^^a^mi^^0tm0^^0^0^0^^^0^0>^ 


John  de  Qohitncn,  .1377 

Wmiam  Liberton,      .  1425 

WiUiam  Lerinton,                  .  1427 

William  Liberton,      .  1429 

Sir  H.  Preston  of  Cnugmiller,  1434 
Thomas  Cranstoon,                .1439 

Patrick  Cockbom,      .  1447 

lliomaf  de  Cranston,     .  1461 

Alexander  Naper,  1457 

Andrew  Ker,  14^ 

Robert  More  of  PolheUie,  1 467 

John  Naper,  1470 

James  Crichton  of  Rnthren,  1477 

William  Bertraham,  1481 

Patrick  Baron  of  Spittlefield,  1482 

JohnNaoer,                           .  1484 

Richard  Lawson,  1491 

John  Morraj  of  Talchadaa^  1492 

Walter  Bertraham,                .  1494 

Alexander  Lander,  1501 

Richard  Lawson  of  Hieriggs,  1504 

Alexander  Lander,  1508 

Arch.  Donglas,  Earl  of  Angus,  1513 
Alexander,  Lord  Home,  Great 

Chamberlain  of  Scotland,  1514 

Patrick  Hamilton  of  Kincarei,  1515 
David  MeWin,                        .1516 

Archibald  Donglas,    .  1517 

Robert  Logan  of  Coatfield,     .  1520 

Allan  Stewart,  1522 

Francis  Rathwell,          .        .  1524 
Robert,  Lord  Maxwell, 
Sir  Jn.  Morray  of  Tolchadam, 
Sir  Thomas  Tod, 
Adam  Otterbnme, 

James  Lawson,  1534 

Simon  Preston,           .  1536 

WiUiamCraik,       .                 .  1540 

Sir  Andrew  Ker  of  Little  Dane,  1 550 

Arch.  Doaglas  of  Kilspindy,  1553 

Tjord  Seaton,       .        .  1557 

T.  Maccalzean  of  aifton-Hall,  1558 

Arch.  Douglas  of  KUspindy,  1559 


T.  Maccalaean  of  Clifloii-Hall. 

Arch.  Donglas  of  Kilspindy, 

Sir  S.  Pteston  of  GraigniiUer, 

The  Laird  of  Otange, 

James  Macgill, 

Lord  Lindsay,    . 

Georce  Donglas  of  Paridiead 

Archibald  Stewart, 

Alexander  Claric  of  Balburn j-, 

James,  Earl  of  Aixan, 

WiUiam  Little, 

John  Amot, 

William  TJttle,      . 

NicoU  Edward, 

Alex.  Home  of  North>Berwick, 

Hemy  Nisbet,    . 

Alexander  Lord  Fyrie, 

Earl  of  Donfermling, 

John  Amot, 

William  Nisbet, . 

Alexander  Clark, 

David  Aikenhead, 

Sir  William  Nisbet, 

Alexander  dark, 

David  Aikenhead, 

Sir  John  Amot, 

Darid  Aikenhead, 

Alexander  Clark, 

David  Aikenhead, 

Sir  John  Hav, 

Sir  William  Dick, 

Sir  Alexander  Clark, 

Sir  John  Smith, 

Sir  Archibald  Tod,     . 

Sir  James  Stewart, 

Archibald  Todd, 

Andraw  Ramsay, 

Sir  James  Stewart, 

Sir  Robert  Murray,     . 

Sir  Andrew  Ramsay, 

James  Currie,     . 

Sir  WiUiam  Binning, 

Francis  Kinloch, 


1561 
1562 
1565 
1569 
1570 

1573 
1576 
1578 
1579 
1584 
1586 
1587 
1591 
1592 
1593 
1597 
1598 
1605 
1608 
1615 
1618 
1619 
1621 
1622 
1624 
1625 
1626 
1680 
1684 
1637 
1638 
1640 
1643 
1646 
1648 
1652 
1655 
1658 
1660 
1662 
1673 
1675 
1677 


I 


\ 


LIST  OF  THE  LORD  PBOVOSTS. 


609 


8ir  James  Dick,     .  .        .    1679 

Sir  James  Fleminff,  1681 

George  Dmmmond,  1683 

Thomas  Kennedy,  1685 

Magnus  Prince,     •  .        .1687 

Sir  John  Hall,    .        .  .        1689 

Sir  Archibald  Moir,  .    1690 

Sir  John  Hall,            .  1692 

Sir  Robert  Chieslie,  .        .    1694 

Sir  Archibald  Muir,  1696 

George  Home,       .  1698 

Patrick  Johnston,      .  1700 

Hew  Canningham,  1702 

Sir  Patrick  Johnston,  1704 

Sir  Samnel  M'aelian,  .        .    1706 

Sir  Patrick  Johnston,  1708 

Adam  Brown,  .             1710 

Sir  Robert  Blackwood,  1712 

George  Warrender,  1713 

John  Campbell,          .  1715 

William  Neilson,  .     1717 

John  Campbell,  1719 
John  Wigntman  of  Mauldslie,    1721 

John  Campbell,     .  .        .    1723 

George  Dmmmond,  .        1725 

Archibald  Macanlj,  .        .1727 

Patrick  Lindsay,        .  1729 

John  Osbam,         .  .        .     1781 

Patrick  Lindsay,        .  1733 

Alexander  Wilson,  .    1735 

Archibald  Macaoly,  1736 

James  Colaohonn,  1738 

George  Hslibmrton,  1740 

John  Coatts,          .  .1742 

Archibald  Stewart,  M.P.,  1744 

George  Dmmmond,  .        1746 

Archibald  Macauly,  .     1748 

George  Dmmmond,  1750 

William  Alexander,  .        .1752 

George  Dmmmond,  1754 

Robert  Montgomery,  .        .     1756 

George  Dmmmond,  1758 

George  Lind,         .  .     1760 

George  Dmmmond,  1762 


James  Stuart, 

Gilbert  Laurie, 

James  Stnsrt, 

John  Dalr3naaple, 

Gilbert  Lwrie, 

James  Stoddait, 

Alexander  Kincaid, 

John  Dalrymple, 

Walter  Hamilton, 

David  Stenart, 

John  Grieve, 

James  Honter  Blair, 

John  GricTC, 

Thomas  Elder, 

James  Stirling, 

Thomas  Elder, 

Sir  James  Stirling,  Bart, 

Thomas  Elder, 

Sir  James  Stirling,  Bart, 

William  Fettes,     . 

Neil  Maeviear, 

Sir  William  Fettes,  Bart, 

Donald  Smith, 

WllUam  Coulter,    . 

William  Calder, 

William  Creech,     . 

John  Maijoribanks,  M.  P., 

William  Arbuthnot, 

Kincaid  Mackenzie, 

John  Manderston,   ' 

W^illiam  Arbuthnot, 

Alexander  Henderson, 

William  Trotter, 

Walter  Brown, 

WiUiam  Allan, 

John  Learmonth, 

James  Spittal, 

James  Forrest, 

Sir  James  Forrest,  Bart 

Adam  Black, 

William  Jolmston,     . 

Duncan  McLaren, 

John  Melville,   . 


1764 
1766 
1768 
1770 
1772 
1774 
1776 
1777 
1778 
1780 
1782 
1784 
1786 
1788 
1790 
1792 
1794 
1796 
1798 
1800 
1802 
1804 
1806 
1808 
1810 
1811 
1818 
1816 
1817 
1819 
1821 
1828 
1826 
1827 
1829 
1831 
1833 
1837 
1838 
1843 
1848 
1851 
1854 


The  following  Lord  Provosts  died  during  the  period  they  filled  the  civic 
chair,  via.,  Adam  Brown  in  October  1711,  Alexander  Kincaid  in  Januarv 
1777,  and  William  Coulter  in  April  1809;  each  of  them  was  interred  with 
a  public  fttnezal  procession. 


2  Q 


REPRESENTATIVES  IN  PARLIAMENT 

fOBTBS 

CITT  OF  EDIVBUB6H 

PBOM  THB  nnOH  TO  TKB  PBIUaT  TIHB. 


Bf ffht  HonoanUe  Sir  SamiMl 
M'ClellMi,  Lord  Prorost, 

Biffht  Honourable  Sir  Patrick 
Johnston,  Lord  ProYOtt, 

Sir  Patrick  Johnston, 

Sir  James  Stooart  of  Qoodtrees, 
Adrocato, 

Bight  Honoorable  Qeorge  War- 
render,  Lord  ProTost,  1715 

Bight  HonoaraUe  John  Gkmp* 
bell.  Lord  ProTOft, 

Bifl^t  Honoimble  Jolrn  Gamp- 
bell,  Lord  ProTost, 

John  Campbell,  Esq.,  Iste  Lord 
ProTOst, 

Biffht     Honoozftble     Patrick 
Lindsay,  Lord  Prorost. 

Archibald  Stewart,  Esq.  (after- 
wards Lord  ProTOst), 

James   Ker   of  Bonghtridge, 
Conyener  of  the  Trades, 

William .  Alexander,  Esq.,  late 
Lord  ProTost, 

Biffht      Honoorable      Qeorge 


1708 

1709 
1710 

1713 


1721 
1722 
1727 
1734 
1741 
1747 
1754 


Lind,  Lord  ProTost,  .    1761 

James  Coatts,  Esq.,  1762 

Sir  Lanrence  Dondas,  Bart,  1768 
Sir  Lanrence  Dondas,  Bart,  1774 
Sir  Lanrence  Dondas,  Bart,  1780 
J.  Hontor  Blair,  Esq.  of  Dnnsky,  1781 
James  Honter  Blair,  Eso.  of 

Donsky    (afterwards    Lord 

ProTOst),  1784 

Sir  Adam  Fergnsson  of  Bal- 

kenan,  Bart,  .    1784 

Bight  Hon.  Henry  Dondas,  1790 
Bight  Hon.  Henry  Dondas,  1791 
Bight  Hon.  Henry  Dondas,  1798 
Bight  Hon.  Henry  Dondas,  1796 
Bight  Hon.  Henry  Dondas,       1800 


Bight  Hon.  Henry  Dondas, 
Biffht     Honoorable     Charles 
Hope,  lord  Adrocate  (after- 
wards Lord  President),  . 
Eu>noorable  George  Aberorom- 
by,  afterwards  Lord  Aber- 
cromby,     •        •        •        . 
Sa  Patrick  Morray  of  Och- 

tertyre,  Bart, 
Sir  Patrick  Moxxay  of  Oohter- 

tyre,  Bart,         ... 
Bight  Hon.  William  Dondas, 
Bight  Hon.  William  Dondas, 
Bight  Hon.  William  Dondas, 
Big^t  Hon.  William  Dondas, 
Bight  Hon.  William  Dondas, 
Bight  Hon.  William  Dondas, 
Bight  Hon.  William  Dondas, 
Biffht  Hon.  William  Dondas, 
Bobert  Adam  Dondas, 
James  Abereromby,  and  Fran- 
cis Jeffirey,  Lord  Adyocate, 
Sr  John  Ounpbell  (Attorney 
Qeneral  of  Eofflana),  elected 
on    Francis   Jeffi^y   being 
raised  to  the  bench,    . 
Bight  Hon.  James  Aberoromby 

and  Sir  John  Campbell, 
Bight  Hon.  James  Aberoraml^ 

and  Sir  John  Campbell, 
Ihoe.  B.  Macanlay,  elected  on 
the  Bight  Hon.  James  Aber- 
eromby being  created  Lord 
Donfermline, 
Bight  Hon.  Thos.  B.  Macanlay 

and  William  Qibson  Craig, 
Charies  Cowan  and  Sir  Willuun 

Gibson  Gadg,  Bart, 
Bie^t  Hon.  T.  B.  Maeanlay 
and  Charies  Cowan, 


1802 


1803 


1806 

1806 

1807 
1812 
1812 
1814 
1818 
1819 
1820 
1826 
1830 
1881 

1832 


1834 
1835 
1837 


1839 
1841 
1847 
1852 


LIST 


or 


PBHrCIPiLS  OF  THE  UKIYEBSITT  OF  EDIHBIIBaH. 


Robert  PoUook,                         1668 

Dr.  GUbert  Rede, 

1689 

Henry  Gharteru,                   .    1600 

Dr.  William  Ceretein, 

.    1704 

Patridk  Sends,   .                        1620 

Williem  Wiehert, 

1712 

BobertBoyd,                         .    

Williem  Hamilton, 

.    1768 

John  Ademion,                          1625 

James  Smith, .          -    • 

Dr.  William  iTiehart, 

1786 

Robert  Leighton,                   .    1653 
WiUutmColTm,         .        .        1662 

.    1787 

John  Goldie, 

1754 

Andrew  Cent,                .            1675 

Dr.  William  Robertson, 

.     1762 

Dr.  George  Baird, 

1798 

At  the  RoToliition,  > 

Dr.  John  Lee, 

.    1840 

INDEX 


TO 


BISTORT   OF   EDISBURGH. 


^V*f»*^^0^^^W^^*t*f^ff»t^^ftt*f»f*0^ 


AMnOfBy  4 

AbtraoiD,  Hanpis  of,  ^      572 

AbafcroiDbr'i,   Jubm,    Motioa   to 

amend  Uia  Birprenntttion  of  tbo 

City,  873,888 

^^_i.^_Ma.»*-i«i»M  elected  Mem- 

ber  for  Edinlranh,  427,  459 

Speaker  of  the 
Houae  of  Commooa,  444 

created  Lord 
Dooieiinlnief  466 

Aoceeaion  of  William  IV.,  408 

Aeddent  U  iMd  £ldin'a  Sale,  429 

Acrieola,  «  .  .  8 

ADcenhead'ff  Trial,  140 

Albert,  Prinoe,  566,  568,  571,  576 

Albert,  Prinoe  of  Walea,  bom,  482 

Aleiander  II.,  6 

III.,  .        6, 7 

AUaoo  00  the  Managemeot  of  the 

Poor,  ...       471 

Anconleme,  Duke  and  Dneheaa  d\     408 
Annnitf  Tax,  429,  441,  581,  588 

ADtt-Bnrghera,  171 

Anti-Popery  Meetinga,  448,  451 

Anti-Slavery  Meeting  405,  406 

Arohdnkea,  John  and  Lewia,  of  Ana- 

tria,  Tiatt  Eduibnigfa,  824 

Afthen,  Rojal,  156 

Argrle  beheaded,  113 

ArtDor,  King,  5 

Arthor'a  Seat,  111 

AaMoiate  Preabytery,  170 

Anohinleck,  Lord,  277 

Balmoral,  584, 560 

Bank  of  Scotland,  189 

Banking  in  Edinbm^  in  early  timea,  189 
Barony  of  Brooghton,  899 

Batha  for  the  Working  Glanea,         494 
Battle  of  Mona  Orampina,  8 

Battle  of  Bannockbom,  7 

Battle  of  Borooghmoir,  7 

Battle  of  Floddeo,         .  15 

Battle  of  Pinkie,  .  17 

Battle  of  Bothwell-Bridge,  128 

Battle  of  Sheriffnnir,  159 

BatUe  of  FaUdrk,  182 

Battle  of  Colloden,  184 


808 
324 
806 
468 
6 


Battle  of  Gamperdown, 
Battle  of  the  Nile, 
Battle  of  Trafidgar, 
Battle  of  Wate^, 
Begbie'e  Murder, 
Bible  Bound, 
Blackfriars  Mooaatery, 
Blackfriaia  Wynd,     121,  278,  400,  548, 

549,560 
Black  Tonpike,  264 

Blackwood*a  Magasine  oonmenoed,    881 
Bine  Blanket,  11 

Board  of  Health,  419 

Board  of  Mannfaetnrea,  569,  576 

Borough  Loch,  161 

Borough  Mnir  oTergrown  with  wood, 

15,22 
Botanic  Gardena,  374 

BothweU  Bridge,  Battle  of,  123 

Bothwell,  Earl  of,  21 

Boyle,  Datid,  (Lord  Jnstioe  General), 

566,576 
Britiah  AaMwiation  for  Advanoement 
of  Sdenoe  meet  in  Edinbugh,  488, 439 

558,559 
Brooghton,  Barony  of,  98,  899 

BuccTeach,  Dnke  of,      16, 426, 487,  500, 
Bnrgh  Befimn,  269,  271,  481 

Borgheri,  171 

Boike's  Trial,  .898 

Boma  CommenoratioD,  838 

Caledonian  Railway  opened,  529 

Oalton  Hill  Monnmeot,  869,  417 

Calton  Hill  Walka  formed,  329 

Cameroniana,  130 

Campbell,  Sir  John  (Iu)rd  Camp- 
bell), 435,  448,  446,  459,  480 
Candlemaker  Row,  7 
Canongate,  25, 87 
Canter  of  Coltbri^,  175 
Caatle,  6,  6,  8,  21,  95, 118, 134, 147 
Caatle  Hin  Reeerroir,  .  9 
Caatram  Alatmn,  3 
Caatmm  Puellanm,  5 
Chaldee  Mannacrint,  .  381 
Chambera*  Joonal  Commenoed,  420 
Chambers,  Robert,  420,  532,  555,  559 
Chariae  Edward  anrtTea  in  Edinborgh,  177 


INDEX. 


613 


Caudet  L,     89,  90,  91,  92,  98,  94,  lof^ 

108, 109, 121 
Charles  II.,  .    118,115,118 

Chirks  X.  residss  st  Holyxood,  279,  284 
dethroped,  404 

— ^  tgiin  resides  at  Holyrood,  406 
Chief  Magistiate,  81, 112, 120, 126, 184, 

171 


418,  419,  684 

109,  467,  477 

269,  271,  481 

.       401 

870 

430 

48 

688 

184 


Cholera, 

Chtuch  Patronage, 
Church  Befom, 
City  Cess  CoUectiaD, 

CitT  TaJMS, 
atjr  WaUs, 
CUireDdoD  Creaont, 
Claverbonae, 
Cockbnm,  HenTT,  (Lord  Cookhoni)  871, 
875.  879, 401, 409«  485, 488,  498 
Coekbnn,  Mrs.,  her  Parody  on  Priooe 

Charles's  Manifeeto,  180 

College  of  SnrseoDs'  Mnseom,  &&,    402 
College  WjDd,  Z8 

CommeDoenMnt  of  the  WaTorley 

Novels,  ...        822 

CoDniuasioa  for  Visiting  Soottiah 

Colleges,  .  .419 

Committee  of  War,  .107 

Confeaaion  of  Faith,      .      18, 188, 168 
Contest  for  Hastenhip  of  Merchant 

ComiMmr,  .  889 

Contests  for  the  Gvic  Chair,  882,  400, 

476 
Convener  of  the  Trades,  12, 160 


188 

178 

11,  681,  686 

146, 166,  214 

86,810 

128 


Convention  of  Estatea, 
Cope,  Sir  John, 
Corn  Market, 
Conrant  Newspaper, 
Court  of  Seaaion, 
Covenanters,^ 
Cowan,  Charles,  elected  Memher,      628 
Cowgate,  .  10, 26, 87, 602 

Cramond,  ...  4 

Creech's  Letters,  841 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  .  .        Ill 

Cross  of  fidinbmrgh,  21,  109, 124, 165, 

189 
Cnlloden,  Battle  of,  184 

Cnml>erland,  Dnke  of,  182, 185 

Dalkeith,  12,94 

Darien  Colony,  140 

Damley,  ...  21 

David  1.,  ...  6 

David  II.,  ...  8 

Death  of  Prinoesa  Charlotte  ofWales,  883 
Death  of  George  IV.,  .       408 

Debate  in  Paruament  abont  Beacon 

Newspaper,  866 

Debate  in  Parliament  abont  Edin- 

borgh  Ftuchiae,  888 

Decreet  Arbitral  of  James  VL,  160 

LoidDay,    160,218 

Defeeta  in  Edinburgh  Hospitals,        609 
Dinner  to  Henry  Brougham,  879 

—  to  Joeeph  Hume,  883 


Pace 

DuuMT  to  Viaooont  MdvUle,  889 

«— —  where  Soott  anwnmeed  Um- 

aelf  as  the  Author  of  Waveiicy,  Ac.,  891 
^—  to  Jeffir^  and  Abercromby,   482 

to  Earl  Qrev,  440 

to  O'ConneU,  447 

^^—  toesrorsss  svinpatfay  with  the 

Polish  Belni^  460 

— -^  to  Thomas  Campbell,    .       468 

to  Sir  Wimam  jUlan,  461 

to  Cbarlea  Diokana,  481 

to  David  Roberta,  487 

to  Dr.  Chalmers,  492 

on  Inaugurating  Sir  Walter 

Soott*s  Monument,  619 

to  Lord  Dalhonne,  628 

to  Sir  John  Wataoo  Gordon,  697 


Disruption  in  the  Cfaarofa  of  Soot- 
land,  ^ . ,  490 
Doctor  Johnaon'a  Visit  to  Edin- 

buTvh,  •       242 

Donald  Bane,  6 

Donaldson*s  Hospital,  407,  644 

Donaldaon,  James,  407 

Douglas  Cause,  289 

Dmry,  Sir  WiUiam,       .  28,  24 

Duke,  Sir  Jamea,  684 

Dundas,  Robert  Adam,  sleeted  Mem- 
ber, 418 
Dundee,  Viaoount,  184 
Dnnlop,  Alexander,  .  611 
Earthen  Mound,  266 
Ed^Atheline,  6 
Edmbnrgh  and  Glaagow  Railway 

opened,  .  488 

Annuity  Tax,    4^,441,681, 

688 

CasUe,    6,11,17,21,28,24, 

26,112 


Franchise 


m 


Parliament, 

—  Imptrovemente  Act, 

—  Review, 

—  Weekly  Journal, 
Edncatioual  Manifesto, 


878 
898 
291 
881 
866 

5 
686 

7 


Edmund  Ironside, 
Educational  Manifeato, 
Edward  Baliol, 
Edwin's  Burgh,  the  original  name 

of  Edinburgh,  .  6 

Election  of  first  members  under  the 

Reform  Bill,  .  427 

Election  of  M.P.  for  Edinburgh,        887 
Emperor  Nicholas  of  Rusna,  828 

Empoor   Severus,    and    Emprsas    * 

Julia,  ...  4 

Emperor  Valentinian,  6 

Emperor  Vespaaian,  8 

Enoydopndia  Britannica,  240,276,629 
Episcopacy,  118 

Era  of  Railways,  488,  608 

Ettrick,  Lord,  96 

Exhibition  of  objecte  of  Art  and 

Manufactures,  469 

Fancv  Ball,  .403 


614 


HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBOH. 


FettiTtl  in  honour  of  Invwition  of 

Printing,        ...  459 
Fine  Arts^BrirfViofrof  tbo  Hi»* 

torj  of,  in  Edinboigb,  M9 

FlringofthoCaitlo,  S20 

FixBt  Fortifioation  of  Edinbnrgfa,  9 
FIzBt  Roform  Mambon  of  PariiA- 

mont  for  Edinborgh,  4S7 
Floddon,  BUtlo  of,        .           .16 

FortNM  of  the  Hill  of  Amtv    .  6 

Fomm,  Ftm  Mmobs*  Hdl,  819 
Fnnk  of  WUna's  Aooonnt  of  Edin- 

Frc^^nrofa  of  Sootiind,   494,490,492 
Fkiwdom  of  the  Citj  ind  Dinner  to 

Henrjr  Brougham,      .  .       879 

French  Bevolntion, 
Friends  of  the  People,  period  of, 
Frj,  Mrs.,  TJsits  Eainbnrgh, 
Qss  Companies  established, 
Geofge  L  proclaimed  King, 
Qeorce  II.  succeeded, 
died, 


in 

272 

464 

828,  467 

157 

162 

194 

227 

840 

861 

867 

408 

894 

275 

480,  517, 

520,580 

ones',  Saint,  Chnrah,  16, 20,  88, 98,  400 


George  III.  proclaimed, 

'  died,. 

George  rV.  proclaimed, 

visits  Edinborgh, 

George  IV.*s  Bridg^ 

Gerndd's  Trial, 

Gibson  Craig,  Sir  WOIiam, 


Gough,  Lord, 
Goloen  Chaitv  of  James  VL, 
of  ChariosL, 


551 
58,98 
196 

AAA 

4 

15 

141 

874 

10 

144 


Grafton,  John, 

Grabsm*s  Dyke, 

Grassmarket, 

Grsat  Fire  in  1700, 

Greet  Fues  in  1824, 

Greenside. 

Green's  Baot, 

Grsy  (EsrI)  Administratioa  formed,  409 

Festival  in  ESuibnigb,      488,  440 

Grsjfriars  Monsstory,  8 

Bmring  Groond,     8,  20^  95, 

105,128 
Gothris,  Dr.  Thomss,  476,  515,  521,  524 
Hallow  Fair,  9 

Hadrian's  Wall,  5 

Hamilton,  Thomas,  Arehitect,  882.  596 
HereditsiT  High  Sheriff  of  Edinburgh,  11 
High  Coiistabiss,  180 

HigfaBigs,  40,47 

HighS^ool,  250,400 

Highland  Army  entered  Edinburgh,  176 
Highland  Ciuh  of  Sootland,  891,  896 
Highlands  and  Islands  of  Sootland,   470 

520 

Highland  Sodetr  Exhibition,     484.  582 

Hol/rood  Palace,     6,  9,  10,  18,  15,  16, 

17,  19,  20,  21,  26,  88,  36,  92,  94, 

124,  144,  178,  225 

HolTiood  Abbey,  7,  18,  20,  21,  180 


Paie 

Hope,  Charles,  (Lord  Jnstios  Clerk 

sndLordPre^dent),  294^299 

Hope,  John,  (Lord  Jnstios  Clerk),    867, 

592 
Improvements  wU, 
Income  of  Proftssoriai  Chairs, 
Jacobites, 
Jamss  I., 


James  If., 
Jamss  III., 
Jsmes  IV., 
James  V., 
Jamss  VL, 


898 
420 
159 

10,  U 

12,15 

15,16 

22,  26,  80.  84,  85,  86 


James  VI.  bom  at  Edinbnrgfa  Castle, 

— — — •  died, 

Jamee  VII., 

Jenrey,  Framas,  nected  member, 

Johnstone,  Mrs.,  authorsss  of  Clsn 

Albtn, 
Joint  Stock  Manja^ 
Jubilee  Reionn 
Jorv  Court  estsblishsd. 
Keen,  Edmund, 
Kemble,  John, 
Keys  of  the  Ctty^ 
King's  Stablee, 
Kirkaldy  of  Grange, 
.Kirk  of  Field, 
Knoz,  John, 
Ijinderdale,  Duke  of, 
Lee,  Dr.  John,  Prindpol 


29 

42 

124 
427 

422 

377 

428 

826 

827 

880 

319 

114 

22,24 

20,  21.  88 

17,  28,  516 

121 

>«,       a^*.     WWMU,       m.  •MH«|nH      of     the 

Universitv,     .  474,574 

Leith,        16, 18, 19,  89,  111,  112, 140, 

288,888 
Leith  Docks,  Mensj^ement  trans- 

fwrsd  to  a  Commissioner,  890 

Leslis  Controversy,  .  299 

I^ven,  Eari  of,  102 

Literary  anb,  294 

Tiockhart  and  Wilson,  881 

Lord  MelviUe's  (Henry)  Trial,  805 

-^— ^^-^^  Monument  commenced,  864 
— -^—  (Bobert)  Besignation,    892 


Lord  Provosts,  fist  of 
Lords  of  the  Congrsgalion,  17 

Lvnedoch,  T^ord,  324 

Maeanlay,  Thomas  Babington,  467,  470, 

480,  514,  577,  578 
Macbeth,  5 

Madaren,  Charles,  381, 554, 555, 557, 558 
Msoonochie  Alexander,  fLord  Advo- 
cate, Lord  Mendowbank,  and  after- 


576 


to 


wards  Msoonochie  Weilwood), 
Mail    Coach    from    Edinbnipi 

London,         ... 
Maloohn  Canmore, 
Margaret  the  Maiden  of  Norway, 
Margaret's  Trial, 
Martyrs'  Monument, 
Meadows,  161,544 

MsetiDg  for  Extension  of  Edinburgh 

Franchise,  870 

in  favour  of  One  Pound  Notes,  386 
for    Subscription    for    the 

Working  Clsssss, 


142 

5 

6 

275 

181 


INDEX. 


615 


Metting  of  Hi^iUmd  Qab,        891  jSS 
—  to  petition  for  Bopaal  of  Tait 

and  Corpontion  Acts,  896 

to  Eotabliih  Infant  Scbook,  898 

^—^  in  fttToor  of  Catholic  Eman- 

dpatioD,  899 

■  ■  ■'■  ™    to  ftBit  ovorbharga  on  Citj 

Com,  ...       401 

— — —  to  exptm  admiration  of  the 

IVench  Poo|>)o  niittiiif  Tiolation  of 

tbatrBighta,  404 

— — —   at    Hoirnod    Paxk   abont 

BafonnBUl,  416,428 

— «-  for  mnoring  Ci?0  DiaabOi- 

ties  from  the  Jawft,     .  484 

^—  abont  forming    a    Pier    at 

Granton,  487 

"  abont    the    Appropriation 

Oavae.  444 

— —  abont  anpply  of  Coal,     .       460 
«— — —  for  SanitaiT  Improvements,  466, 

608 
— — —  for  Penny  Postage  tbrongb- 

ont  Britain,  468 

— --^  for  a  Statue  of  tbe  Dnke  of 

Wellington,  468 

— » to  Establisb  Bagged  Schools,  426 
— — »>  about  Highlands  and  Islands 

of  Scotland,    .  464,  470 

«— —  abont  Bepeal  of  the  Com 

Uws,  484,  465,  469,  480,  494 

— »  abont  Entailed  EsUtes,         620 
-^— »  abont  Christian  Union,  627 

— —  abont  the  Game  Laws,  682 

-^— *  about  Hnngarf,  688 

— ^  abont    Improved    Lodging- 

Honaes  for  the  working  ChuMS,    686 
»— -  about  Boads  and  Bye-wajs 

in  and  aronnd  the  dty,  610 

-»—  in  favour  of  Katicoal  Edn- 

eation,  648 

— *—  for  Improvement  of  Lower 

Classes,  ...        644 

Meetings  against  Slavery,  405,  406 

Merchant  Companj,  125 

Merchant  Company  Contest,  ^  889 

Merchants  and  Trades,  '  .         29 

Mid-Lothian  Yeomanrr,  672 

MiUer,  Hugh,     .  .472 

MiiTorClnb,      .  .  261,277 

Monereifi;  Sir  James  W.  (Lord«)  862, 897, 

428 
Moncreiir,  James,  Lofd  Advocate,  468, 610 
Monk,  General,  118 

Monmouth,  Doke  of,     .  122 

Mons  Meg*  899 

Montgomery  the  Poet  visits  Edin- 
burgh, 481 
Montrase,  Marquis  of,    .  110 
Monument  to  Lord  MelviDe  864 

James  Watt,  876 

— — *  Dngald  Stewart,         417 
— — — ^-  Politioal  Martvrs,        604 

Sir   Walter   l^tt,    426, 

474,  617 


Paft 
Moray  Qroosda,  888 

Mubr,  Thomas,  younger  of  Hnntsr*s 

Hill,  ...        272 

Municipal  Set,  80 

Muiray,    John     Axchibald,    (Lord 

Murray),  422,  486, 478 

Mwny&ld  Suburban  villaa,  278 

Muaard  CoQoerts,  494 

Musical  festival,  824,877 

Mutmy  of  Seaforth*a  Hi^Uanden,  261 
Napier,  Lord,  ...  291 
National  Covenant,  81 

Education,    621,  622,  686,  648 

-~— —  Galleryf  Foundation -atone 
laid  by  Prince  Albert,  669 

Jubilee,  812 

■  Monument,  869 

NeIaon*s  Monument  founded,  808 

Nether  Bow,      .  28,116 

Netherbow  Port  removed,  284 

New  Academy  opened,  878 

New  Bigh  Schod,  899 

Newspapers,      .  112, 114 

New  Town  commenced,  282,  287 

New  Town  Gardens,      .  886 

New  Town  Proprietors  meet  about 

Prince's  Street  Gsrdens,  886 

New  University  founded,  266 

New  Year  Riots,  .816 

Nicholas,  Emperor  of  Russia,  .  829 
Night  Asylum  instituted,  478 

Non-Intmsion,  Ac.,  467,  470,  471,  488 
North  Bridge  commenced,  282 

North  British  Review,  499 

— — — —  Railway  opened,  617 

North  Loch,  8, 16, 17, 178, 281,  298, 414 
Ode  addressed  to  Wm.  Bkekwood,  420 
Old  City  Guard  House,  .        166 

Old  College  Reliques,     .  894 

Old  Grev  Triars  Church  bunt,  160,  604 
O'Neill, 'MisB,     .  .  .827 

One  Pound  Note  Scottish  eorrency,  886 
Opening  of  North  British  Railwsy,     617 

Caledonian  RaDway,         629 

Origin  of  Greyfriars  Cemetery,  20 

Origin  of  the  title  of  Lord  Provost,    120 
Pantheon,  Meeting  to  petition  for  dis- 
missal of  the  Ministry,  ^        862 
— — ^—  for  enlarging  Edin- 
burgh Franchise,  870 

^  against  Invsaon  of 

Spsin,  •  871 

Papal  Aggresaon,  686 

Parliament  first  held  at  Edinburgh,  6 
Parliament  Square,  102,  127 

Parliamentary  Reform  Meeting,  409 
Paton's    Portraits   and    Caricature 

Etchmgs,        ...       887 
Patronage,  109,  467,  477 

Paul  Jones,  .262 

Peel,  Sir  R.,  409,444,480,614,617,668 
Persecutions  of  the  Stuarts,  119 

Philosophical  Association,  .  619 
Physicians'  Hsll,  George  Street,  241 
Picts,     ....  6 


616 


HISTORY  OF  EDINBURGH. 


Pinkie,  Battk  oi; 
Plague,  23,  31,  32,  88 

Pleasanoe,         ...  16 

PoU  eleotioo  of  Magiitntw,  .  181 
Poor  Law  for  Soottand,  475 

PopiahBk*,  ...  251 
PopolatUMi,  161, 8M 

PopalatioaofEdinbandiaiidLaith,  607 
PorteoosMob,  164 

Portabargli,  ...  109 
Potato  Diaeaae,  514 

Potterrovr,         .  .  ,        122 

Potterrow  Port,  15 

Prdaoj  Aboliahed,  183 

Fraetonfield,  ...  125 
Prioa  of  Proririona,  585 

Prindpctla  of  the  Uniyeni^,  .  611 
Prince  Charlea  Edward's  £fx{>editioo,  172 
———————  aniTal    in 

Edinburgh,     ...        177 
'  Hninonnia 

Tenion  of  hia  Manifesto,  180 

Prince's  Street  Gardens,  9 

Proolamatioa  of   the  Pretender  as 

James  VUL,  177 

Procesaion  on  Extension  of  Leith  Pier,  388 
Proposed   Creecent  from  Infinnaiy 

Street  to  Horse  Wynd,  278 

Provision  Markata,  10 

Public  Meeting  368 

Qneen  Jane,  wife  of  James  L,  8 

Qneen  Ann  of  Denmark,  16 

'  Anne,    .  143 

—  Caroline,  wife  of  George  IL,  166 

of  Bohemia,  .       '36 

— ^  Magdalen,  wife  of  Jamea  V.,   16 

—  Margaret,  widow  of  Malcolm 
Canmore,       ...  5 

•^—  Margaret  of  Anjon,  10 

— *  Margaret,  wife  of  James  IV.,   12 

Maiy  of  Cinise,  16,    18 

Mary,  wife  of  Wnfiam  III.,    139 

Marj  of  Soots,  16, 19, 21,  22,  32 

— —  Victoria  procbiimed,  459 

— -  Victoria'a     marriage     with 

Prince  Albert,  471 

YiotoriariaitoEdinbQrgfa,  485, 560 

QneensbeiTy  Honse  Shelter,  376 

Qneen  Street  Hall,  580 

Ragged  Sohoola,  521,  524 

RaOwajs,  461,  508 

Befonn  Bill,  412,  413,  415,  416,  417. 

422,  423 
Reformation,  ...  17 
RegaUa,  146,335 

Regent  Bridge  commenced,  824 

finiahed,  389 

Regent  Moray  mnrdered,  22 

'  Regent  Morton,  25,  26 

Refief  Secession,  188 

RemoTsl  of  the  Old  Cross,  189 

Renovation  of  St.  Giles'  Cathedral,  400 
Re^resentatiTes  in  Pariiament,  Uat  of 

sines  the  Union,  610 


Page 
Bfsihtanos  to  payment  of  Annuity 

Tax,  ...        429 

Riding  the  Marches,  142,  159 

Riding  of  the  Scottiah  Parliament,     144 
Riot  of  the  Students,  124 


Ritchie,  Handysidey 
Rissio,  Darid, 
Robert  L, 
Robert  U., 
Robert  lit, 

Rohan,  Duo  de,  Trsfelai 
Roiloek,  Robeit, 
Roman  CathoUos, 
Royal  Exchange 
Royal  Society,    . 
Royston« 

Rnilion  Green,  Battle  of, 
RosssU,  Loid  John,  412,  415,  417,  518, 

514,586 
Sabbath  Evening  Walk  from   the 


544 

21 

7 

8 

8 

37 

80,  31,  38,  36 
18 
188 
255 
16 
120 


Castle  to  Holyrood, 
Salary  of  Lord  Provost, 
Salisbury  Crags, 
Sanitary  Preneimtions, 
Savings'  Bank, 
Scarcity  of  Provisions, 
Sceptre,  ... 

Scotsman  Kewspaper  establiabsd, 
Scots  Magasane, 


545 
240 
885 
418,419 
461 
171,  286,  319 
160 
880 
881 


Scottiah  Academ]rof  Painting,  Senlp- 

ture,  and  Architecton,  •       592 

Scottish  Renlia,  146 

Setoftheuty,  47 

Shaftesbury,  Eari  of,  (Lord  Aahiey),  528 
Shakspeare  Commemoration,  385 

Stddona,  Mrs.,  827 

Slater,  Peter,  875 

Smith,  Sir  Sydney,  .       815 

Snow  Ball  Riot,  462 

Soirees,  .489 

South  Bridge  commenced,  256 

opened,  256 

Spanish  Annada,  88 

Speculative  Society  instituted,  285 

— — —  fiftieth  snniver- 

sary,  325 

Spire  of  Old  Greyfriani  Ghuiehbamt,  160 
Statue  of  Charies  II,  127 

Steell,  John,  Sculptor,  597  606 

Stewart's  Hospital,  828 

Stewsrf s  (Dunld)  Monament,         417 
St  Bemard'a  Crescent,  88 

St  Mary's  Churoh  founded,  878 

St  Maiy's  Wynd,     '    .  .7,11 

Strange,  Sir  Robert,  594 

StudenU  attending  Univenity,  886 

Suburban  Cemeteries,  510 

Supply  of  Water  fbr  Edinbnrig^        414 
Sword  of  State,  161 

Tables  of  Dates  of  SCnets,  Pttblio 

Buildings,  &C.,  599 

Tait'a  Magsxine  commenced,  420 

Tait,  WiUuun,  416,  480 

Talee  of  my  Landlord,  328 

Tanfield,  ...       874 


INDEX. 


617 


ThMtn,  .827 

ThMtrieal  Fud  DimMr,  891 

Tolbooth,  .20,85 

TonieGollMtkiDorPietariiffte.,      694 
ToornamfDt  «t  the  Korth  Loch,  8 


Town  Qurd, 

Tninod  B«ndt, 

IVUa  of  the  Lord  Provost, 

Lord  MelviUe, 

the  Cotton  SpiBBWi, 


291 
118,185 
184 
805 
462 
272 
500,581 
512 
897 


TiMb  for  Sedition, 
Triui^  GoUeKO  Cbiinh, 
-«—  Honital, 
Tron  Cbnreo  Spire  homt. 
Trotter,  Wm.,  Lord  Provoet,  888, 8»7, 400 
Tnuteee  for  Citj  of  Edinboi:^  481 
Tunnel  below  Soothnd  Street,  508 

Union  of  Qrett  Britain  with  IieUnd,  288 
Union  Biote,  146 

United  PieobTtonaiii,  171 

Unirerntj,  .  26,419 

UnlToni^  Patronife,  452 

Vennel,  15, 40 

Viotoria,  Qoeen,         456,  485,  660,  576 
^^^>—  pnolaimod,  459 

— — ^  ■ ."     '  ■   crowned,  468 

■        SMiiied,  471 


Vietorin,  Qneeo, 


WaHooe^B  Tower, 
Water,  rapplr  of, 
Weterioo.  Bottle  of, 
Wataon,  George, 


Bdinhngh,  48^! 

584,660 

9 

414 

824 

597 


Gordon,  Sir  John,  577, 598,  597 
Watt  Monnment,  875 

'WareileT'pabliabed,    .  822,828 

Weekly  Joornal  Newapapcr,  881 

Well-boaae  Tower,  9 

WeUington,  Dnke  of,  409,428,442,448 
WeatBow,  .  .  .  8,10,174 
WeatoD  Princess  Street  Gardena,  9 

Westminater  Aaaemblj,  19 

Weatminater  Confeaaion  of  Faith,  188 
Weat  Port^       ,      86,  109,  497^  508 

864 
6 
182 
188 
148 
408 
415 
455 
881 
472,  491,  544 


Whig  and  Tot  FeatiTak, 
WoSun  I., 

-^—  Prince  of  Onnge, 
— —  IIL  and  Maij, 
— —  died, 
— —  IV.  procLuned, 
^■^■■~"^~""  crowned, 

died. 
Wllaon  and  Locknart, 
WitMoa  Kewapaper, 

2b 


INDEX 


TO 


BIOGRAPHIC   K0TICE3. 


<^^^^»^^»m^^»v<»»i^^rv%vw>»v<*» 


AbanrombM,  Dr.,  600 

Abererombr,  Lord,  277 

: Sir  Ralph,  289 

AiUm,  Dr.  Alezuder,  .       312 

lUght  Hon.  WOluun,  466 

AliaoD,  Arohibald,          .  .        460 

Allan,  Darid,                 .  281 

Anderson,  Jamaa,          .    •  163 

John,            .  .       280 

Dr.  Jamai,  811 

Dr.  Robert,  .        410 

Argrle,  Maiqnia  of,        .  114 

-S-JEariof,              .   '  .        127 

DnMeof,  228 

Amot,  Hngo,                .  .       258 

Baird,  Prindpal  Geoffe,  479 

Bailantme,  Jamea,  432 

'• — John,          .'  865 

Bannatyne,  George,  88 
Sir  WiUiam  Madeod, 

Lord  Bannatjne,  488 

Barclay,  Dr.  John,  888 

B«ihaven,  l^rd,  155 

Bell.  Benjamin,              .  .        806 

-  ■  John,         .            .  .        868 

SirChariea,  488 

Black,  Dr.  Joeenh,  .        284 

Blacklock,  Dr.  Thomaa,  .        269 

Blackwood,  WUliam,  441 

Blair,  Robort,  .       186 

-  John,  .  254 
Sir  James  Hnntsr,  264 

Dr.  Hugh,  287 

Robert,  Lord  Presidsnt,  814 

Boston,  Thomas,  164 

Boswell,  Jamea,  277 

Sir  Alexander,  866 

Bridges,  David,  478 
Brown,  Dr.  Thomas,  861 
Bmcs,  Robert,  .  92 
Michael,  238 

James,               .  276 

Bnmton,  Mrs.  Maij,  837 

Bnoelench,  Henry,  Dnks  of,  817 

Bnchan,  David,  Earl  of,  401 

Bnrnet,  Biahop,  157 
-^-^  James,  Lord  Monboddo,        285 

Bams,  Robert,  259 


29 

124 
878 
495 
158 
526 
882 
428 
529 
898 
818 
87 
278 
821 
Creech,  WiUiam,  .  ~  826 

CuUen,  Dr.  William,      .  267. 

Dalrymple,  Jamea,  Yiaooont  Stair,    189 
-John,  fint  Earl  of  Stair,  154 

187 
270 
164 
257 
407 
16 
229 
110 


Bate,  Earl  of, 
Boehanan,  Genge, 
Cameron,  Richara, 
Campbell,  Alexander,    . 
— —  Thomas,        . 
Cantairs,  Principal, 
Chalmers,  Dr.  Tnomai, . 
— ^— —  George, 
Clerk,  John,  Lord  Eldm, 
Combe,  Dr.  Andrew, 
Constable,  Archibald, 
Coalter,  William,  Lord  Prorost, 
Craig,  John,     . 

James, 

-William,  Lord  Ctng, 


John,  second    ditto, 
David,  Lord  Haiies, 


Defoe,  Daniel, 
Dick,  Sir  Alexander, 
Donaldson,  James, 
Doaglas,  Gawin, 

Doke  of, 

Drammond,  William, 
'    ■'  Provost, 

Donoao,  Lord  Viaooont, 

Dr.  Andnw,    , 

Dandas,  Sir  James,  f^ord  Amiston, 
-— <— -  Robert,  Lord  Amiston, 

^  Lord  President, 

■■■  ■■    Sir  Lawrence,    . 

—  Robert,  2d  Lord  President, 
Henrv,  VisoQont  Melville, 


297 
898 
128 
168 
188 
258 
263 
800 
189 
428 


Elohies,  Lord, 

Eldin,  Lord,  John  Clerk, 

Erskine,  Charles,  Lord  Jostios  Ckik,  282 

Proftssor  John,  288 

— —  Dr.  John,  296 

—"— -^  Hon.  Henry,  884 

Thomaa.  Lord,  372 

David,  Earl  of  Boohan,  401 

Falconer,  William,  240 

Fergnsson,  Robert,  247 

Fergason,  James,  249 

^— *— -  Professor  Adam,  826 


INDEX. 


619 


il 


FfttM,  Sir  WiUuun,  Lord  Prorott,  462 
Fletcher,  Andrftw,  Lord  JwtioeCkriE,  2M 

Forbei,  Sir  William,  806 
Foontainhall,  Lord,  Sir  John  Lndar,  162 

Gall,  Riohard,                .           .  290 

Gardanatone,  Lord,  Fianoia  Gardn,  274 

GiUafpie,  George,  109 

Tbomaa,  246 

WilHam,  868 

Glenke,  Lord,  Sir  William  Uiller,  616 

GlenorebT,  Ladj,                      .  266 

Gordon,  Lord  Adam,                 .  290 

Gow.  Katbaoiel,            .      •     .  417 

Gregoiy,  Dr.  John,  241 

— -   Dr.  Jamea,  866 

Grahame,  Jamea,  816 

Grant,  MrL,  of  Laggan,  464 

Gray,  Jamea,  408 

Grieve,  John,  .  .  468 
Gnthrie,  Jamea,                       .116 

Haddo,  Lord,     ...  268 

HaUes,  Lord,  Sir  DaTid  Daliympk,  270 

Hart,  Andrew,  40 

Henderland,  Lord,  Alex.  MuraT,  278 

Henderson,  Alexander,  104 

'                                  PiOToat,  891 

Henry,  Dr.  fiohort,  .  268 
Herd,  David,                 .           .814 

Heriot,  George,  •  .  41 
Hogg,  Jamee,  the  Ettrick  Shepherd,  449 

Home,  Henry,  Lord  Kamei,  264 

—  John,     .  ,  .811 

Dr.  Franda,  822 

Hope,  Right  Hon.  Cbarlea,        294,  299 

Hopetonn,  John,  Earl  of,  878 

Homer,  Franda,  888 

Hwne,  David,               .  260 

—  Baron  David,  466 
Hunter,  Dr.  Andrew,  .  818 
Hntton,  Dr.  James,  282 
lngli8«i>r.  John,  488 
Jamieson,  Dr.  John.  464 
Johnston,  Dr.  David,  .  .  878 
Kamcs,  Lord,  Henry  Home,  264 
Kay,  John,  .  .  886 
Kent,  Dncbesa  of,  660 
Ker,  James.  .  286 
Kirkaldv,  William,  of  Grange,  .  24 
Knox,  John,  ...  28 
—William,  .  .  890 
Laing,  Malcolm,  887 

Alexander  Gordon,  889 

Lander,  Sir  Thomas  Dick,  681 
Law,  John,                                .168 

Leiffhton,  Archbishop,  126 

Lealie,  Sir  John,            .  426 

Leven,  Earl  aL,  Alexander  Lealie,  117 

6tb  Earl  of,  298 
Leyden,  John,  .  .816 
Logan,  John,      .    ^       .            .266 

Lunardi,  Vineent,  807 

M'Crie,  Dr.  Tbomaa,  446 

Madntoeh,  Sir  James,  424 

Madcail  Hnjeh,                          .  120 

Mackensie,  Sir  George,  188 


.    'Si 

887 
186 
829 

<86 

380 

190 

llallet,  David,  .  .        286 

Mansfield,  Earl  of;  William  Murray,  266 


Madcensie,  Hennr, 
Madmi^ht,  Dr.  Jamea, 
Madannn,  Colin, 
Maonab,  Laird  of, 
Maeneil,  Hector, 


Macniieni 
MdOandi  WiDiam, 


Mdville,  Andrew, 
— — — •  Viaooont,  Henry  Dnsdaa, 
Midde,  WUliam  JofiDa, 
Miller,  Sir  Thomas,  Lord  Praaident, 
Sir  William,  Lord  Glenlee, 


40 
800 
266 
266 
616 
286 
896 


Monboddo,  Lord,  Jamea  Bomet, 
Moncrdff,  Sir  Hemy  WeDwood, 
Monk,  Genenl,  Dnke  of  AlbeoMrle,  121 
Monro,  Dr.  Alexander,    primmt^       287 

884 


Montgomeiy,  Sir  James,  Lord  Chief 

Ban>n, 
Mnir,  Tbomaa.  Advocate,  Yonoger 

of  Hnntershiil, 
Mnrrsy,  Professor  Alexander, 
^^— —  Dr.  John, 
Kapler,  John,  of  Merdiiston, 
Kaamyth,  Alexander,     . 
Neabit,  Alexander, 
Niooll,  Robert, 
Park,  Mnnffo,    . 
Pinkerton,  John, 
Pitcaim,  Dr.  Alexander, 
Pollok,  Robert.  A.M., 
Pringle,  Sbr  Jonn, 
—  Thomas, 

Clerk, 


Rae,  Sir  David,  Lord 
Raebnm,  Sir  Henry, 
Ramaay,  Allan,  the  Poet, 

the  Painter, 
Renwick,  Jaines, 
Robertson,  Prindnal, 
Rockvillc,  Lord,  Alex.  Gordon, 
RoUock,  Prindpal, 
Rosslyn,  Earl  of,  Alexander  Wedder- 

bum,  .  . 

Rnddiman,  Thomas, 
Scott,  Sir  Walter, 
Sharp,  Archbishcm, 
Sibbald,  Sir  Robert, 
—  Jamea, 
Sindair,  Sir  John, 
Smellie,  William, 
Smith,  Dr.  Adam, 
Smith,  Sydney, 
Smollett,  hr.  Tobias, 
Stair,  Viaoonnt,  • 

— —  first  Earl  of, 
— ^  second  Earl  of, 
Stewart,  Danid, 
— ^—  Professor  Dngald, 
Stirling,  Sir  James,  lard  Provost, 
Strahan,  William, 
Stoart,  Dr.  Gilbert, 
Telford,  Thomas, 
Thomson,  James, 


296 

272 
817 
868 
89 
478 
162 
461 
804 
881 
166 
896 
268 
442 
298 
872 
198 
266 
180 
274 
271 

Be 

808 
190 
424 
128 
166 
294 
461 
276 
267 
606 
246 
189 
164 
187 
828 
897 
806 
267 
268 
441 
187 


620 


HISTORY  OF  EDINBUBOfiL 


TiMaiaoB,  Dr.  Andrtir,  411 

—  John,  of  Ooddingirtoiit      479 
Tjtlor,  WOIuun, 
Janm, 

■  Atenndir  Fumt,  818 

Waniftaii,  Lovd,  Sir  AidiilMld  John- 

118 


WobitMr,  Dr.  Alnoidir, 


258 


WeddwinnL  Dsvid,  Eail  of  BomIjii,  808 
Wobh,  Dr.  Dsrid,  .511 


WUsoo,  Akzander, 

WUBuiiaoD,  Pttar, 
WoodfAliXMidflr, 


821 
286 


/ 


BDDIBUBOR ! 


^